Reality Bites
by Tiffsababe
Summary: Sassy never envisioned her life as being completely dull, then again, who does? But when a blacked out SUV comes careening around the corner of her street chasing a POS sedan, her life finally gains the excitement she was missing. Watch Sassy try to navigate what she thought was only fiction and what is now her reality. OFC/MM M for lang./adult sit.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I wanted to make sure that I covered all my bases. So here's my blanket disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I profit from the works of JE. Nor am I allowed to take any of the MM home for extended periods of time. Apparently, I have pissed off the Fanfiction Gods somehow and must be supervised whenever within touching distance of said MM. It's sad really. I feel like Grandma Mazur! *sigh***

 **A/N2: This is the story I have worked on for NaNoWriMo 2015. I hope you all enjoy.**

 **PLEASE READ & REVIEW!**

 **Chapter 1:**

I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped out my front door. The wasn't a sound to be heard, no birds chirping, no cars on the street, not even the occasional barking of a dog. It felt off. Turning around with keys in hand, I proceeded to lock my door and head to my car. Squeeling tires broke the uncomfortable silence that permeated the air. I jumped, not knowing what was happening, hiding behind the brick pillar. I watched a beat up brown POS sedan come sliding in a turn around the corner and onto my street. It managed to make the turn, but the driver miscalculated slightly and crashed into my neighbor's new picket fence. The driver was slumped in his seat, resting his head on the steering wheel. I could hear the engine of a second vehicle gunning in our general direction and watched as a blacked out SUV skid to a stop just feet from the brown POS.

A group of musclebound men clad in black surrounded the car, weapons drawn. I shrank back fearful of the situation. What the hell?! This doesn't happen on my street!

"Johnson, we have you surrounded. Come out with your hands up. You are in violation of you bond agreement." The man, clearly the leader barked at the man still sitting in the POS. "Place your hands on the steering wheel. DO NOT MOVE!" I was facinated by the scene unfolding before me. "Santos! Ram! Hal! Take him into custody." With weapons still trained on the man in the car, three men moved forward. The door was jerked open and one of the men in black yanked the man onto the ground. Whipping a pair of cuffs out from the back of his belt, the man in black cuffed the prisoner. As soon as the cuff clicked, the others returned their weapons to their holsters in their belts.

"Son of a bitch! You Fuckers! You woulda never got me if I didn't crash. You gunna to pay fo' this!" The man yelled, clearly pissed. He looked as if he belonged on a street corner in a bad part of town slinging drugs. His mannerisms and clothing screamed ghetto. "Me and my boys gunna cap yo' ass!"

One of the men leading the foul mouthed ghetto rat to the SUV, 'accidentally' bashed his head into the door frame and laughed, "Johnson. Better watch where you walk." The husky laughter from the others felt like music to my ears. I edged out further from the pillar to get a better look at the men in black. In a split second I had five guns pointed straight at my head, five sets of eyes trained on my face and I almost wet myself. Oh, dear GOD!

"Show yourself!" The leader barked. With knees shaking, I dropped my purse and raised my hands to show them I was unarmed. I inched my way out from behind the pillar and stood on my front walkway. "Who are you?" He questioned me.

I swallowed hard and stammered, "I..I..I..uh, I live here." I pointed to my house behind me. "I'm sorry. I was just leaving and saw what happened. I...uh..."

Before I could finish the prisoner screeched at me, "Bitch you as good as dead too. I know where you live. You die too!" I paled at his words. I felt as if I was underwater, the sounds coming into my ears were muffled, everything began to close in and I felt woozy. Then, just before everything went black, I felt strong arms catch me as I fell to the ground.

"Ma'am? Ma'am?" I heard a sexy deep muffled voice through the fog in my mind. "Ma'am. Please, wake up. Ma'am!" I slowly lifted my eyelids and focused on the faces that surrounded me. I realized that five extremely handsome men were staring at me, I felt hot and blushed.

"Wha.. what happened?" I asked sitting up slightly, putting a hand to the side of my head.

"You passed out. Are you okay?" I turned to look into the handsome face of the speaker. He was a huge man, maybe 6'4", gorgeous green eyes, tanned caramel skin, slightly darker caramel hair cut short on the sides, slightly longer on the top, it was slicked back with hair gel. The dimple on his left cheek was so cute, and his lopsided smile was heartstopping.

"I'm fine. I'm sorry." I sat up completely, with the aid of another fine specimine of a man. His medium dark skin was accented by the fact his hair was a warm chocolate brown. His blue eyes were drop dead heavenly. His gentle hands assured me that he knew something about medical care, as they roamed over me checking me for injuries. He asked me, "Do you still feel faint? Did you eat breakfast this morning? Do you have a medical condition that would cause you to lose consciousness?"

"Um... No. Yes, I ate a boston creme doughnut and coffee. And no medical condition." The smirk on his face was cute, but the leader shook his head. I heard one of the men mutter something about doughnuts under his breath.

"Ma'am. I think we better talk." I could tell by the tone of his voice I wasn't going to like what we had to 'talk' about.

I was helped to my feet and I dropped my gaze to the ground. "We can go inside. I can make coffee and I have a coffee cake."

He nodded before he pulled one of the men aside. The second man walked over to the SUV and drove away. The first man with the gorgeous green eyes handed me my purse, I dug around inside and produced my keys. I unlocked the door, disarmed my security alarm and showed them in. One man stood guard at the door, while the leader and the medical guy walked with me into my kitchen, the last guy stood sentry at my back door. I dropped my purse on the counter and proceeded to make an extra strong pot of coffee. The coffeecake was pulled from my cabinet and sliced. I poured cream into a creamer and set it as well as the sugar bowl on the table. They sat in silence watching me until I placed cups of steaming coffee in front of them.

"Ma'am," The leader spoke. "What you witnessed today was a take down of a wanted felon, who has skipped on his bond agreement."

"He's an FTA?" I asked. By the puzzled look from the other man, I was guessing I was speaking lingo that they didn't expect from me.

"What?" I asked. "I know about FTA's." The leader watched me with a blank expression, his dark eyes assessing me. It was odd, it was like I knew him. But I knew I had never met him in person before. It was like I knew all five of the men that had invaded my street not more that 15 minutes before. I had an odd feeling about it.

"Ma'am. I want to introduce myself..." He was cut off from finishing when his phone rang. He held up one finger as he answered. "Yo." Yo? I thought, I know that greeting. "Will be back tomorrow morning, Babe." Upon hearing the word 'Babe', I dropped my coffee cup, it shattered onto my kitchen floor. OMG! OMG! I know who he is! I know who all these guys are. I felt as if I was going to pass out again. The leader watched me pick up the pieces and wipe up the mess. "Babe. Call you tonight." I heard him snap his phone shut, and he asked me, "Ma'am? Are you alright?"

I sat down hard into my chair, the second man pulled out a small penlight and flashed it into my eyes. I batted it away, "Bobby, stop!" Both he and the leader froze.

"What did you say?" The leader whispered. I cringed. DAMN! Now they know, I know.

"Bobby, stop!" I looked defiantly into the leaders eyes. "I know who you are. I know who all of you are." He quirked his one eyebrow and studied me again.

"Damn it!" Bobby swore, and bounced his open palm off of my kitchen table. "How did you know?"

I smiled and shook my head, "Because, Bobby, I've known about you guys for a while." I felt a little flushed at my admission, but knew it would go a long way in helping me get out of this mess.

"Excuse me?" The leader answered, clearly unimpressed. "All of us?" I blushed.

"What can I say? I couldn't stop reading about you."

He shook his head almost imperceptably. He gave an almost sigh, as I had always imaginged he did, "What is your name?"

"I'm Stephanie. Stephanie Wilson." The leader gave an almost smile and looked at Bobby.

Bobby groaned and hung his head in his hands. "Another Stephanie?"

"What? I can't help it if Steph and I share a name." I responded, "I'm not like her." I bit my lip knowing I was getting the eyebrow from the leader. "Okay, maybe that's not true. But, I'm not completely like her." I picked at a nonexistant piece of lint on my jeans.

"Right." Bobby chuckled. "Do you blow up cars? Do you get rolled in garbage? Do you get shot at?"

I gave a weak smile, "Only sometimes." Both men barked with laughter, I looked up to watch the guard at the back door stifle a laugh. "WHAT?"

"CHRIST! I should have guessed as much." The leader turned to me, knelt at my feet and and looked into my eyes. "So, you know who I am?"

"Yes." I paused, and closed my eyes, hoping this wasn't a dream. Upon opening them, I realized it wasn't a dream. This was real. "You're Ricardo Carlos Manoso. AKA Ranger, CEO of Rangeman Inc. You're based out of Trenton, New Jersey." He nodded. "This is Bobby Brown. Rangeman Medic." I pointed to the men standing behind us, "That's Ram. Lester's at the front door and I assume Hal took your FTA to the copshop." Bobby ran his hand through his hair, clearly flustered.

"How did you know it was us?" Bobby asked.

"I didn't at first. It wasn't until I started to put things together when Ranger got his phone call from Stephanie. As soon as he said 'Yo' my brain started to work overtime. But when he called Stephanie, 'Babe', I just knew it was you guys." I rubbed my forehead with my hand. "I still don't understand how you all can be real." I looked at Bobby watching his brows furrow. "I mean, you're all fictional characters in Janet Evanovich's books!"

"No. We're real. Believe me, we're real." Ranger stated flatly, clearly pissed. "Those damn books!" He gave another almost sigh and patted my knee before he rose to his feet. "I don't know how to explain it, other than before the books were published, we didn't exist. Now, we're here. I contacted Ms. Evanovich and we had a long talk. According to her, we were brought to life with a little help from a friend of hers."

"Brought to life? How can that be? You're fictional characters." I shook my head in disbelief. Muttering to myself I wondered, "Wonder if it was Diesel?"

"Diesel is real."

At this point, my jaw dropped open. "Diesel? Real?" I shook my head trying to understand the whole situation.

Ranger nodded and dropped his voice to a whisper, "Yes, he's real. He's the one that got us into this mess. Not that I'm complaining."

"Stephanie? Is there a nickname I can use for you?" Bobby blushed a little. "It's just kinda hard knowing that there's two Steph's and all."

"Uh... I guess you can call me Sassy. Everyone does."

Bobby nodded and patted my hand. "Sassy, I think we need to talk about what happened today."

Ranger resumed his seat at the table, "Sassy. The FTA we apprehended today is really bad news. Marcus Johnson. Arrested for attempted rape, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and multiple drug charges. Jumped bail a week ago in Trenton and we traced him to California. Fairfield, to be exact. Stormed his place this morning but he was already gone, so we waited for him." He was interupted by a phone call, Ranger nodded at Bobby to continue, while he rose and left the room to answer his call.

"Someone tipped him off about us and he made a run for it. We tracked him down to a small house here in Vacaville, we hit it and he managed to escape. We chased him until he wrecked outside. That's when we found you." Bobby raised his hands in a 'there you go' manner and sat quietly waiting for me to absorb their story.

"So, he's going to be transferred back to Trenton, and I don't have to worry about him anymore, right?" I asked, hoping his answer would be yes.

Bobby frowned, and I knew my little sidetrip into denial land was shortlived. "Sassy... he's going back to Trenton. But it's not over for you."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Shit!" I hung my head in my hands. I was dead meat and I knew it. "So, let me get this straight. Because he think's I'm associated with you guys, I'm now a target for Johnson's associates? I can no longer go or do anything without a bodyguard? And I can't do anything to stop him or his friends?"

Bobby thought for a moment then answered, "Sorry, it's not a really pleasant thought." He patted my hand, "We will watch over you until we leave, then I don't know what Ranger will plan for you." I sighed and watched as both Ranger and Lester walked into my kitchen.

Lester waltzed over to me, stuck his hand out, "Nice to meet you Sassy. I'm..."

I cut him off before he could finish. " _The_ Lester Santos!" I blushed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so forward. It's just, my best friend and I have read all the books and you've always been my favorite." I looked at the floor, hoping I didn't turn any redder. His gentle and melodic laugh made my insides quiver.

"Favorite?" I glanced up to watch him waggle his eyebrows and give me his lopsided grin. "I alway knew I was the favorite of the Rangemen."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but, uh... my friend really thinks Ram's the shit." I giggled and watched Ram's chest puff out slightly from the compliment. Lester grabbed his chest in mock pain, but still had his heartstopping smile.

"Sassy. You're going to have to come with us tonight. Johnson will have the word out about you in no time, and we can't risk your safety." Ranger stated, "You can stay with us for the time being. Since Lester is your favorite, you can have his room, he can bunk with Hal." Lester growled and shot Ranger a nasty look.

"Oh, no. I can't do that. I would feel bad." I appologized to Lester, "I'm sorry. I don't want to kick you out of your room."

He shook his head. "Forget it. You can have my room. Hal can sleep on the floor." He chuckled, "We're staying in Fairfield, so it's not too far."

"Pack a bag. We'll get you situated and figure out what to do next." Ranger ordered after draining the last of his black coffee.

I went upstairs, grabbed an old duffle bag and started to pack. 20 minutes later I was fully packed and ready to go. I dragged it to the top of my stairs and let it flop all the way down to the bottom. Hey, it was heavy. The sound of a chuckle followed the thump of it landing at the bottom of the stairs. I decended the stairs to find the guys, including Hal watching me. "What?"

"Nice tactic. Too heavy to carry?" Lester joked.

"I tried to carry it, but I could only make it to the top of the stairs. It seemed like the most logical thing to do." I stuck my tongue out at him. His eyes darkened slightly as he gave me a once over. I had changed from my usual shorts, flip-flops and tanktop, into my tight jeans, lace up roper boots, t-shirt and pullover sweatshirt. My waist length brown hair was pulled into a quick ponytail, and I had applied a quick layer of mascara and lip gloss. I sidled up next to Lester and felt dwarfed. I felt like a munchkin at 5'10" next to his 6'4" frame.

I knew he was checking me out, due to the fact his eyes were glued to me. Hey, I wasn't too bad to look at. I wasn't skinny, but I was thin enough that I didn't feel too self conscious in a swimsuit. My eyes matched my hair, brown with a slight hint of red. And my ever present tan was nice that I never had to use a tanning booth. "Sassy. You ready?" He bumped my shoulder gently with his elbow.

"Yeah. I guess." I wasn't too sure about being ready, but I wanted to give them the impression that I was brave. I reality, I was ready to collapse. I was terrified that some gangbanger would 'pop a cap in my ass'. I was going to put my life on hold because some moron decided to run from his problems.

"Let's go." Ranger walked out first leading the way, Lester and Ram flanked me, while Hal and Bobby followed in the rear. Hal carried my bag out with us and tossed it into the back of the SUV. Ranger assumed his normal position, driver, with Bobby taking the front passenger seat. Hal and Ram took the middle bench seat, leaving Lester and I in the back seat. "Santos. Keep your hands to yourself." Ranger barked.

"Yes, Sir." Lester answered rolling his eyes. I giggled and buckled my seatbelt. Ranger pulled away from my house and headed towards the highway. After a moment Lester asked quietly, "Are you really okay with this?"

I shook my head, "No." I tried hard not to let any tears fall, "I'm terrified." He wrapped my in a hug and patted my back.

"Shh.. Baby. It's okay." I lost it as soon as he called me Baby. I sobbed and turned my face into his chest.

I pulled away a few moments later, "Oh, Lester! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get your shirt all wet. It's just I really don't have bad stuff like this happen to me, just stupid stuff that's my fault."

"It's alright, Baby. I got you. You're okay." He pulled me closer as I continued to sob. Ten minutes later we pulled off the freeway and into Fairfield. I was leaning against Lester, sniffling as he traced lazy circles over my back. I was thankful I had applied waterproof mascara when I had done my makeup, or else I'd look like a raccoon right now.

We pulled up in front of the Hilton and we got out. I had lived in this area almost my whole life and had never been in the Hilton before. I was impressed, I thought that the guys would have stayed in either San Francisco or Sacramento. Guess they could 'rough it' and stay here. Although it wasn't anything close to roughing it. It was posh and luxurious inside and out. The guys surrounded me, as Ranger led the way to the elevator. Multiple people stopped in the middle of what they were doing to watch the young woman surrounded by huge black clad men walk through the lobby. I have to admit I giggled at the sight of a middle aged woman walk right into a plant decorating the lobby, when she fixed her attention on the guys.

We entered the elevator and stood silent as we ascended to their floor. Hal stepped out of the elevator, did a quick check and waved the rest of us out. We walked towards the rooms closest to the stairs, Lester pulled a keycard out of his pocket and slid it into the lock. The tell-tale click signaled for Lester to open the door. But before he turned the handle the full turn, I placed my hand on his arm. "Les! Wait!"

He turned to me giving me a worried look. "What's the matter?"

"I can't take your room. I'll pay for my own." I offered, digging into my purse for my wallet.

Ranger placed his hand on my arm, effectively stopping me. "Sassy. Forget it. We caused you the trouble, we'll pay for it." I dropped my hands to my side and nodded trying not to cry again. "Come on. Let's drop off your stuff and get some dinner."

I perked up, food always made things better in my little world. "Where we going?"

"Don't know yet. Know of any good places?" Lester slid the keycard once again, and opened the door. We all filed in and watched as Les gathered up his things. He was stuffing his bathroom gear into his bag when I realized I was in deep shit. I needed to make a phone call.

"Um, Ranger?" He turned his eyes from the window to my face, "I need to call my mom. She needs to know where I am."

"No."

"No?" I was shocked. How could I not tell my mom about why I wouldn't be home. Granted I was 29 and living alone, but I still called my mom any time I wasn't expected to be home. "But, Ranger..."

"No. I don't want any chance of Johnson finding you." He pushed off of the wall he was leaning against, and walked over to me. He gently placed his hands on my arms, and looked deep into my eyes. "Sassy. We need to keep you safe. After dinner we'll sit down and talk." I nodded and tried not to pout. Les slung his duffle over his shoulder, flexing his well defined muscles. My mouth felt dry and I couldn't help but watch him as he silently moved past me. Ram chuckled and used his crooked finger to close my mouth.

"Sassy. It's just Lester." He snickered and moved off of the wall towards the door to follow Les. Hal had dropped my duffle on the floor and I reached in to retreive my makeup case. I placed it on the bathroom counter and fished out a tube of lipgloss. Watching me apply my lipgloss, Ranger and Hal were quietly watching me.

Hal, quietly asked me, "Do you usually look like this?" He realized he had spoken aloud and blushed.

"Like what, Hal?" I asked in return, as I touched up my mascara. I watched his reflection in the mirror, as he wrung his hands. Damn he was shy!

"Well, boots, tight-ass jeans and sweatshirt."

"Hal. Eyes up here buddy." I saw him flush as he realized he had been caught checking out my ass. "And to answer you, yeah, for the most part. I like to be comfortable. And to me, boots and jeans are comfortable. Besides, a sweatshirt can help to conceal the fact I usually carry." Ranger raised an eyebrow and settled his gaze on the small of my back. "Yes, Ranger. I carry. It's just like Steph's, a Glock 19. And yes I do have a permit to carry concealed."

He snickered and shook his head, "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to tell me. I noticed it back when you came down the stairs earlier." He raised himself from the wall he had leaned on, and held out his hand. I reached behind me and pulled out my baby. I loved it. At first I had been terrified, but after a few months of forcing myself to the range to practice, I had become accustomed to it and felt naked without it.

"Why?" It was all he asked. He checked it over, checked the clip and took a quick look down the sight.

"Ex-boyfriend. Long story short, he beat the shit out of me, I smashed a brick over his head. He was arrested and came after me after he was released. I got it to protect myself."

He nodded and handed it back to me. I placed it back into the waistband of my jeans and resumed applying my mascara. When I had finished I turned and smiled. "Ready?"

Ranger nodded and led the way out the door, holding it open for me. Hal knocked on the door next to Lester's, well, my room. Lester opened the door and nodded us in. I flopped down onto the bed and laid spread eagle waiting for them to decide where to eat. "Sassy?" Lester asked. "Know of any good places to eat?"

I worked myself up onto my elbows, "Yup. How does Mexican and Honduran food sound?" They all smiled and Hal rubbed his stomach. "La Cabana. Downtown Suisun. Good food, and it isn't expensive." I turned over onto my stomach and looked at Ranger, "Plus, they have killer salads there." I giggled and bounced up onto my feet.

"Damn if she doesn't know you." Ram murmured. Ranger shot him a warning look. "What? You treat youself like a temple." I headed for the door and stopped to wait for them to check the hall for bad guys.

We headed out with me in the front passenger seat giving directions. "Head back out onto I-80 West and take 12 East. Take the Downtown Suisun City exit." Ranger nodded and we headed for the highway. I felt four pairs of eyes boring into the back of my head. "So, guys... I already know about you all, I guess you might have questions about me? Don't be shy, ask away." I turned in my seat to be better able to see the guys.

Ram was the first to speak up. "What do you do?"

"Sales girl. I work at a western wear store. Boots, hats, jeans, you name it, we got it. I used to work as a phamacy tech, but get laid off a few months ago. I got hired at the store a few weeks ago, but it's only part time."

Bobby perked up, "Did you work in a hospital?"

"I did my externship at the hospital in Napa, and was hired at a local independant pharmacy down the road from it. But due to a slow time of year and the fact I was low man on the totem pole, I was let go first. I loved it, the customers were great. But the only thing I hated was that I missed the customers when they died or moved."

"Are you from here originally?" Hal asked quietly.

"I was born across the delta in Concord, until I was 12 I grew up in Martinez and Pleasant Hill. We moved to Vacaville before I entered 7th grade. Graduated from Wood High School."

"College?"

"Solano Community College, College of the Redwoods and Humboldt State with a Batchelor's in history, minor in California Native American history. Then I decided that I wanted to do something else, and attended a local technical college, got my pharm tech diploma, took the national test and got my certification."

"Family?"

"Well, I have my mom and step-dad in Vacaville. Brother lives in Michigan, and my real dad lives in the city."

Lester frowned, "The city?"

"San Francisco. Around here, it's called the city." I explained trying not to giggle. I pointed to a sign, "Turn ahead, Ranger. Just follow it down and make a right. At the light make a left, the restaurant is on the right."

"What do you do for fun around here?" Lester asked, surveying our surroundings.

"I hang with my friends, watch tv, go to BBQ's. Plus I go mudding once it gets wet enough."

"You go mudding?" Ram asked, shocked. "You got a truck?" I smiled and nodded.

"Yup. You'll drool. I paid it off last year. It's a Ram quad cab V-8 Sportsman. I had them bore it out some more and add some aftermarket parts. Lightbar, heavy duty bumpers, skid plate to protect my pumpkin, diamond plate tool box, Warn winches in front and back, an 8 inch suspension lift, and a 2 inch body lift. All purpose covers on my seats, collapsable side steps, a set of all terrain 54's and I had it painted black." I think I could have heard a pin drop with how quiet the guys got. I giggled as the guys stopped and stared at me. "What? Can't a girl kick ass in a big ol' truck too?"

"Damn! Will you marry me?" Ram looked as if he was in love with me. But Lester slapped him on the back of his head.

"She's mine, Fucker!" I blushed and tried not to laugh.

"Ram. If you want when you guys take me back to my house, I'll show you. I had it under the tarp in the driveway." He smiled and gave Lester a smug look. "Lester, you can sit next to me if you'll let me take you on a test drive." And with that, Lester shot Ram a smug look of his own.

"Later." Ranger barked. "Dinner first." We jumped out and headed to the door.

When we stepped in, a hush fell upon the patrons. A timid hostess approached us, "Table for six?" Ranger nodded and followed the hostess. Lester placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me to our table in the back. The skin beneath his finger burned, and I felt all flushed. He pulled out my chair and seated me between himself and Ranger against the wall. The hostess handed us menus and I held my hand up not needing one.

"I know what I want. Give us a few minutes so the guys can figure out what they want. But first can I have a Corona and lime, please?" She nodded and asked the guys what they wanted. They all ordered soda or water, the waitress left to fill our drink order.

"Know what you want already?" Lester teased.

"Yup. This is my favorite place to eat. I used to come here all the time, before..." I stopped myself and clammed up.

"Before what?" Hal asked as he dug into a huge basket of fresh made tortilla chips.

"Nothing. Forget it." I fumbled, but continued when I noticed the guys all staring at me expecting me to continue. "Fine. Before I broke up with my ex."

"The one who attacked you?" Hal asked without realizing he just let my secret slip. Bobby, Lester and Ram all growled.

"What?!" Lester nearly shouted. "He did what?"

"Look it's nothing. He beat me and I hit him with a brick. He got arrested, end of story." I hoped he bought it, but the look on Hal and Ranger's faces said otherwise.

"She's got a concealed permit, and a Glock." Damn! Ranger squeeled! The look of surprise covered the guys faces.

"What? Can't I protect myself?" I crossed my arms and pouted.

Ranger raised his eyebrow, "He scared you enough for you to carry. It had to have been worse than what you're letting on."

"Fine! I was in the hospital for six days, fractured skull, four broken ribs, fractured facial bones, broken arm, through and throughs in both thighs, sprained wrist and a total of 143 stitches to close the knife slashes. I'm fine now."

A chorus of Holy Shit's, Fuck's and a single Damn were released between clenched teeth.

Lester's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Fuck Baby!" He held my hand in his, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, that was three and a half years ago. I'm all better now." I pulled my sweatshirt off and rolled up my shirt sleeve to show a scar that ran down my right arm from my shoulder to my elbow. "This was from his hunting knife." I pulled the shirt neck aside to show a series of slash scars at the base of neck, "This was from his work knife. And it was the one I had bought him for Christmas. I can't show you the rest in public." I quietly tugged my sweatshirt back on as the waitress came bearing our drinks. She then took our orders. "Carne Asada a la Cabana, please." She smiled and nodded.

The guys all ordered the same as me except Ranger, he ordered a big salad with homemade corn tortillas on the side. After the waitress left, Lester pulled my hand into his. "You've been through hell. Please tell me he isn't still alive." His eyes pleaded with me, begging for the answer he desperately wanted.

I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry to disappoint you. But he was released from prison seven months ago and has made his presence known a few times. He smashed the windshield on the truck twice, slashed my tires a couple of times too. He got a slap on his wrist for the violations and is still out there. I haven't had trouble with him in a few weeks, though."

"Baby. So, you've been living in fear this whole time?" His thumb was rubbing circles over my knuckles making it hard to think. Oh God! It felt so good.

"Mmm hum." It was all I could do to answer, I was almost speechless. The touch of his thumb was hypnotic, and made me feel like I was on fire.

"Santos. Knock it off. Let her talk." Ranger barked at Lester. He pulled his hands back into his lap and gave me an appologetic grin. I shook my head as if to clear the cobwebs that clouded my brain.

"Sorry. It's just... nevermind." I grabbed my beer and took a long swig.

Wanting to change the subject to a more pleasant subject, Bobby asked, "Do you miss living up north?"

Happy Bobby picked a subject I was comfortable with, I sighed. "Yeah I miss it like crazy. I made a lot of friends up there. I loved my jobs. Plus going to keggers every weekend rocked." I smiled and giggled. "Funny to think that my 20th birthday kegger was the only one that didn't get raided the whole season."

"20th? Isn't the drinking age 21 in California?" Les raised an eyebrow just like Ranger. "Now, tell me you weren't a lush." He teased.

"Yeah, it's 21. And nope, I wasn't drunk all the time. I worked two part time jobs and went to school full-time. I managed on two to three hours of sleep a day for two years. And to let my hair down, I partied. Between the parties thrown by the football players at Humboldt and CR, the keggers on a friend's private property and the parties in the dorms, I was a busy girl."

"Damn. Sounds like Santos at NYU." Ram chuckled. "What was your GPA?"

I smiled smugly, "3.97."

"Fuck!" Lester fumed. "How the hell did you do that?"

"I always loved school, and it wasn't that hard. I recorded my lectures and listened to them when I worked. During class I usually worked on homework from another class. I did projects while on lunch breaks, and besides I only worked Monday through Friday. I finished anything left over on Saturday mornings, and partied until Sunday night." My friends helped me when they could with typing up my lecture notes, if I had any. I came home about once a month. Mom missed me." I winced at the mention of my mom.

"So, what are Humboldt and CR, and where are they?" Bobby asked, confused.

"California State University Humboldt is in Arcata, and College of the Redwoods is in Eureka. They're both in the redwoods along the coast, almost to the Oregon border."

"Cool. I always wanted to visit up there." Hal mused.

"It's beautiful. I miss it a lot. Plus I miss my jobs up there."

"What did you do?" Ranger asked after taking a swig of his water.

"My first job was delivering orders in the feed truck to the local dairys, and working the register in the store. My second job, well... promise not to laugh?" I paused hoping they would agree. When the had all nodded, I sighed and continued. "I worked for an independant logging company. I started out as a secretary, but when I wouldn't give the boss nookie on the side, he put me to work on the logging sites." Lester looked suprised.

"You worked as a logger?" Ram chuckled not believing me.

"Yeah, I did. I started setting chokers and bucking logs. I have my own saw. Then one of the older guys showed me how to fall timber. I did that for the last six months before I moved back home. Joe, the owner, was really good about working around my schedule. Most nights I slept in my truck or tent and then headed to class straight from the site still in my work clothes."

"Holy shit! I bet you had a body that stopped traffic." Lester breathed.

I giggled, "Yeah, I was down to 125 lbs, rock hard abs, the works!" I poked my slightly pudgy belly, "Now? Not so much."

"Damn. You were the shit!" Bobby smiled and winked at me. "Looks like you still are." I blushed and lowered my head slightly embarassed.

"So, you used to climb the trees and everything?" Ram asked more interested now. I nodded and smiled at him getting one in return. "Want to show me your gear?"

Just as I opened my mouth to answer him, the waitress arrived with our food. She placed the huge salad in front of Ranger and steaming plates of beefy goodness in front of the remaining five of us. "Ram. When we go to the house you can check out my gear before I show you my truck." He nodded and we dug in. I enjoyed talking with the guys, so long as I didn't get the third degree from them about my past. I guess they would feel the same if I asked them about their lives including their time while 'in the wind'.

We finished our dinner and sat back relaxing while we waited for the check. "Ranger?" His attention was drawn from scanning the room, to me.

"Can I ask you a question?" He nodded and began to scan the room with his eyes again. "Is everything that happened in the books true?"

"For the most part. With a few exceptions."

Ram cut in, "He married Bomber a few years ago." My mouth fell open and I think I forgot how to blink. Ram stuck his finger out and closed my mouth for the second time today.

I desperately searched for my voice, upon finding it I croaked out, "Married!?" Ranger nodded and smiled a full 200-watt smile. "HOLY SHIT!" I jumped up and gave him a hug, he sat still unsure as to what was actually happening. I pulled back and blushed, "Sorry. It's just it's about time. Damn! Janet made all us Babes so mad at times, we threatened to stop reading the books if she didn't keep you as an active love interest." Lester snickered.

"Hey, Babes number in the millions, Lester. Don't underestimate them." I gestured to myself, "Now, me? I have to say I'm a combination Babe and Tart."

Hal frowned, "Tart? What the hell is a Tart?"

"It's a pastry dumbass." Ram chuckled.

"Actually, Ram... a Tart is someone who is into the 'Merry Men'." I emphasized the words 'Merry Men' with air quotes. "I am proud to say I have memorized all twenty-two books and have reread all the parts that include you guys." I giggled, then added, "My best friend Sarah, has memorized book eight, word for word." I saw Ranger's eyes sparkle and dance knowing full well what that meant.

Of course, the puzzled look on Ram, Bobby and Hal's faces were priceless. They had no clue. I wasn't going to say anything more about it but of course Lester had to open his big mouth. "It's the book where Ranger and Beautiful finally do the nasty." Ranger growled and gave Lester a look that would have made lesser men piss their pants.

The waitress handed the check to Ranger, he rose to walk to the front to pay. When he was out of earshot, Lester leaned over and whispered into my ear, "Baby? You sure you're alright?"

I kissed him lightly on the cheek and nodded. "I'm fine Lester."

"Call me Les. If you don't mind me calling you Baby?" I smiled and rubbed my thumb over his cheek.

We looked up to see Ranger nod his head towards the door and we left after Ram threw a handfull of money onto the table as a tip. We climbed back into the SUV with Bobby up front and me in back with Lester. I leaned against him, closing my eyes, enjoying the quiet. Lester rested his chin on the top of my head. A while later I was awakened to find we had driven back to my house. "We're here for a short time. Sassy, you can drive back to the hotel in your truck if you want. It'll be good to have a second vehicle." Ranger announced.

"Sure. But Ram and Lester will have to ride with me, I don't want to be alone." Ram and Lester grinned at each other.

"Well, let's get this over with and get back to the hotel." Ranger sighed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

I unlocked the door to the garage and stood by as the guys swept the garage for baddies. Upon the all clear, I walked over to a locked metal cabinet, I unlocked it and swung the doors open. The guys stood in shock at the display of gear and tools that lay before them. I held up my metal case Stihl chainsaw with a 36 inch bar, hefting it up and down, feeling the familliar weight. In my best scarface impression, I popped off with, "Say hello to my little friend." Lester chuckled and snagged it away from me.

"Damn this thing is heavy. You sure you handled this Baby?" Les teased.

"Yup. I also had a couple of 48 and 60 inch bars as well. Cutting redwoods require lengthy bars."

Lester popped off with, "I've got a lengthy bar you can check out." Ranger slapped him on the back of the head and I giggled.

Ram carefully pulled a pair of my work boots out and studied them closely. "Damn! These thing have some pretty wicked spikes. Wouldn't mind having a pair of these when we pick some of those fucking skips" He carefully turned one over so the others could see the inch long spikes that covered the bottoms.

"It's so I didn't slip off when I walked along a fallen tree, or when I climbed." With that Hal reached in and grabbed both sets of my climbing spurs.

"Holy FUCK! What the hell are these?" I giggled and snagged them from him. I hopped up onto my workbench and afixed them to my calves and feet showing them what they were for.

"These are my spurs. I dig them into the trunk as I climb. And I hitch myself to the trunk with a climbing harness and ropes." I gestured to the coiled ropes and harness that sat on the bottome of the cabinet. I slid into them and showed the guys. I slipped the rope over Lester and snuggled up to him. "When I climbed I had a rhythm." I showed them moving my legs and arms. "Left arm flip, right arm flip, left leg lift kick slam down, right leg lift kick slam down. Now just imagine doing it all at the same time." Lester pulled me into a hug as he chuckled.

"I'd love to see you climb one day." I smiled sadly, knowing that it probably would never happen. They would be headed back to Trenton tomorrow.

Trying not to show how sad I now felt, I slowly removed my ropes and gear placing them back into my cabinet. I locked it and turned to the guys. "You guys want to see my truck?" The flash of Lester's wide grin nearly blinded me. Rams smile was nearly as bright.

We treked out to the driveway and I pulled back the tarp covering the massive truck. I think Ram nutted in his pants, while the others stood in complete shock. I was spinning my keys on my finger when Lester grabbed for them, but my reflexes were too fast for him. My fingers closed around them, assuring that I would be the one driving. "Nope. My truck, so I get to drive."

"Well, load up. We need to get back to the hotel." Ranger stated, scanning the neighborhood. I beeped the doors open, swung my foot up onto the collapsable step, and launched myself into the driver's seat. Les scrambled up into the front seat with Ram right behind. Les scooted across the wide bench seat over to sit next to me. I inserted the key, primed the engine for a second before I cranked over the engine. I was sure Ram was going to die a happy man after he experienced my truck.

I pulled out and led the way back to the hotel, taking the long route so the guys and I had more time together in the truck. Ram damn near drooled the entire time, Lester kept inching his way closer. Soon his left arm was slung over my shoulders, his left thigh rubbed against my right. I could feel my heartrate increase, and I felt flushed. I couldn't believe that Lester Santos was inches away from me. OMG! I had dreamt of this moment for years! I sighed as I realized that it would all end tomorrow. He must have sensed my change in emotions. "Baby, what's the matter?" He whispered into my ear.

"You all leave tomorrow. And I'm stuck here to fend for myself. I know I could do it, but I just found you guys." I pouted and tried not to cry.

"Sassy? Hey, it's okay. Ranger said we'll talk when we get back to the hotel. He'll make it right." Ram said. Admiring the lines, his hands slid over the dash.

"Baby. I'm not going to leave you here by yourself to fend off those sick fuckers." He patted my knee. "We'll figure something out." I nodded and bit my lip. We pulled up into the hotel parking lot to find it filled with cops and fire engines. I pulled into a spot far from the door with Ranger pulling up next to me. He hopped out and jogged up to the nearest cop. A few minutes later he walked back to the trucks.

"Someone set fire to all the rooms on our floor. We can't go up there. It's a total loss. Nothing survived."

"Johnson's lackey's?" I asked, pissed. Ranger nodded.

"They caught the perp. Surveilence caught a good shot of his face, and the cops knew exactly who he was. Picked him up about an hour ago. He isn't talking." I slammed my fist down onto the dash making Les jump.

"Now where do we go?" I asked tears streaming down my face.

"Know of any good places to stay?" Ranger answered. "And you remain in our protection until it's safe." He looked at me hard, "You will have to drop your life for an undeterminded amount of time, Sassy. You will have to come back to Trenton with us, so we can protect you."

I cried out in relief, but it was masked in tears. Les, rubbed my back whispering into my ear, "It's alright Baby. We'll keep you safe. You can come back when it's safe." I nodded in aquiesence, desperately trying to cover my feeling for Les. I leaned against him for strength, secrectly thanking god that I had more time with him. I know it sounds selfish, but I had fallen in love with Lester the first time I read about him. I knew I loved him, but I was pretty sure I could never tell him how I felt. Besides, we only met today! How could he possibly fall in love with me in only a few short hours?

"Here Sassy. Give me the keys. I'll drive and Lester can hold you." Ram suggested. I handed the keys over without a second thought and vaulted over into the back seat. Lester climbed out of the truck and pulled Ranger aside.

"Man, we need make sure this asshole doesn't hurt her." Lester's jaw was clenched. Ranger noticed the subtle change in Lester's mannerisms.

"You're falling for her, aren't you?" Ranger accused him in a dark manner.

"Yeah, I am." Lester said flatly. "I can't let her get hurt again." Lester's eyes were as cold and hard as ice. "This fucker is going to pay."

Ranger slapped a hand onto Les's shoulder. "She's a sweet girl, Les. Don't fuck it up." He turned, pulled himself up onto the truck step and popped his head into the cab. "Sassy? Can I talk to you for a minute?"

I popped my head up and looked into Ranger's eyes. "Yeah?" I sniffled and wiped my nose with the sleeve of my sweatshirt.

"Where can we go for the night?" He softened at the sight of my redrimmed eyes.

"We can stay at my mom's house. She's got six bedrooms. I hope you don't mind staying there. She and my stepdad are on a vacation in Oregon for a few more days. So it'll just be us there."

"Good. Let's go." I leaned over the seatback, punched the directions into the GPS on my dash and flopped back onto the back seat. Lester climbed in next to me and held me close. Ram primed the engine before he cranked it over. Soon we were on the freeway headed to my childhood home. Lester pulled out the blanket I had sitting in a cubby and covered me. He periodically kissed the top of my head as he rubbed my back. We soon pulled onto my old street and I pointed to the correct house. Ram pulled into the driveway as Ranger pulled up along the curb. I climbed out of the truck with a little help from Les and Ram. We trudged up to the door, Bobby held up his little penlight so I could find the correct key. I unlocked the door and flipped on the light. The guys walked in and shut the door behind us.

I walked into the family room through the foyer and hung a left into the open kitchen. I pulled the fridge door open snagged a six pack of beer that I knew would be there and set them on the counter. I popped one open and took a long swig. The guys didn't need an invitation and grabbed their own, popping the tops as well. They flopped down onto the couch and recliners surrounding the family room. Lester waved me over and settled me down onto his lap. I scooted over so I could lean against his chest with my legs dangling over the arm rest. "So what do we do now?" I asked a little deflated.

"We head back to the jail in the morning and pick up Johnson for the transport to Trenton. You'll go with us, we can return you when it's time." I turned my face into Les's chest, tired and overwhelmed.

"Anyone up for a relaxing dip in the spa?" I asked, trying to put myself at ease.

Lester perked up, as well as Hal. "I will, Baby." Les answered, as Hal nodded. Ram, Bobby and Ranger politely declined. They would like to relax in the gazebo instead. I rose and walked over to the laundry room. I pulled out three oversized towels, an old swim suit for me, and two new, never worn suits my mother had stashed away for guests. I walked back out and handed the suits to Hal and Les.

"These should fit. There's a bathroom down the hall, second door on the left." Hal jumped up and headed towards it right away. "Les, there's another bathroom you can use upstairs. I motioned for him to follow me. We climbed the stairs and I led him to my old bathroom, "You can change in here. I'll be across the hall in my old room." He nodded and closed the door.

A few mintues later, we met in the hallway. Les looked like he was going to swallow his tongue when he saw me dressed in a simple black bikini. He looked incredibly hot wearing the deep blue board shorts. The sight of his tanned well muscled broad chest, his eight-pack accentuated the deep V running over his hips, pointing downward made my mouth go dry. I swallowed hard and tried desperately not to drool. OMG! He looked so HOT! He chuckled, "Baby, hey are you with me?"

I shook my head, "Yeah. I'm here. Let's go before Hal takes the good spot." I ran down the stairs and out the back door. Hal had already pulled the protective top off and turned the jets on. I reached over and adjusted the temp higher and slid into the warm bubbling water. When both Hal and Lester got in, it overflowed. I giggled, "We're going to have to refill it when we get out." I relaxed my head back onto a headrest and enjoyed the warm water. Lester reached over and slid me onto his lap. I relaxed my head back once again leaning it against his shoulder. I could feel his heartbeat in his chest, thumping against my back. Curious, Hal began to study my scars.

"Damn, Sass. You got lots of scars." I smiled and opened my eyes.

"Yeah. Wanna see them?" I watched as Ranger, Bobby and Ram walked over to get a better look. I showed the knife scars on my neck, my arms, my back, my stomach, my lower left butt cheek and the back of my neck. Then I rose out of the water a little more and showed them the round puckered scars on both of my thighs. "These are from the .22 he used, they were through and throughs. Nothing really bad." I tried to brush it off as if it were nothing. The hiss from Bobby, betrayed their silence.

"Damn, Baby. You got fucked up." Les whispered.

"Well, he just wouldn't take no for an answer." He rubbed his hand over my back gently. I sank back down onto his lap. Ram and Bobby pulled three chairs over for the guys to sit as we chatted.

"What happened?" Bobby asked, trying to be clinical about it.

"I caught him cheating with an old friend of mine. So I smashed his truck, that was still in MY name, with a friend's backhoe." I smiled at the thought of the satisfaction of ruining his pride and joy. The jackass always loved his truck more than me.

"Baby, remind me never to piss you off." Les smiled and hugged me close.

"Well, after he found that his precious little truck was smashed, he tore over to my house and beat the hell out of me. Before he left he shot me in both legs in the backyard when I tried to run away. I managed to hit him over the head with a brick and had him arrested. I almost bled out waiting for the EMT's, so I took a lighter and coterized the bullet wounds myself. By the time I finished they arrived." Bobby looked horrified.

"Why?" He asked. "Why didn't you wait?"

"I couldn't. I was getting too weak and I knew if I just laid there I would have died." I shrugged my shoulder. "Didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"And to think, I thought you were a prissy girl when you fainted this morning." Ram chuckled. "Damn, you're as bad ass as any of us."

I smiled and leaned back into Les once again. Hal stood and climbed out of the hot tub. The water level fell 5 inches and I chuckled. "See, I told you we'd have to add water." Hal smiled sheepishly and wrapped the towel around his waist. He sat in a chair in the gazebo, the other three guys moved their chairs back as well.

Les whispered into my ear, "Baby? You tired?" I nodded, then shook my head.

"Don't move please. I want to enjoy as much time as I can with you before I have to give you up." I pleaded with him, feeling selfish.

"Baby. I'm not leaving you. You're coming with us remember?" He patted my stomach gently. I was flabbergasted when he continued. "I don't think I could give you up anyway." I turned to look him in the eyes.

"Les, I know you're a player." I pouted in my mind knowing that was the one thing I hated about him.

"Baby. I stopped being a player three years ago. I haven't been with anyone in over two years. Do you know how hard this is for me?" He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck. "I've waited all my life for someone like you to come along. I never thought I could fall for someone so damn fast." He whispered huskily into my ear. I shivered, feeling my body's response to him. "Can I kiss you?"

I turned my body so I straddled him, took his face into my hands and lowered my lips to his. I never knew sharing a kiss with someone could be so...so... fantastic! I moaned as soon as I felt his warm soft lips brush against mine. His tongue slipped out and traced my bottom lip. He gently nipped my lower lip, tugging it with his teeth before he slowly kissed away any unintentional pain. Opening my mouth slightly was all the invitation he needed to touch his tonuge to mine. I felt as if I were on fire, my body ached with need and desire. I brushed my hands over his chest, gently tweaking one of his nipples with my fingertips. He groaned and drew me closer into a deliciously suffocating embrace, as our tongues dueled.

I ran my hands through his hairs, mussing it up and holding his head still as I nibbled down his jawline to his neck. He relaxed his head back and enjoyed the senation of my lips teeth and tongue roaming over his face, neck and chest. I faintly heard the sounds of the other guys moving themselves indoors, shutting the door behind them. Les reached behind me, losened my bikini top and pulled it free. I gasped at the sensation of the cool night air against my harded nipples. Les dipped his head down to capture first one, the the other nipple in his mouth. He laved the pink rosebud with his tongue before he sucked strongly. Just as he was finishing his assault on my breasts he bit down softly on one. I gripped him tightly, bit down onto the heel of my hand and came.

"Oh, Baby. I love to watch you cum. Oh, yeah, I want to make you come again." He slid my bikini bottoms off and gently stroked my mound as he continued to kiss me senseless. I moaned again, and threw my head back. He slowly inserted a finger and then two into my hot wet center. "Oh, God you're so tight. I want to make love to you Sassy. Let me make love to you."

"Les..." I trailed off before I could finish.

"Yes, Baby? Tell me what you want." He crooned into my ear, niping at it gently. His finger moved in and out slowly, allowing my orgasm to build. "Tell me what you want."

"Les, oh god! I want you I want you right now. Fuck me. Lester please fuck me!" I tried to tug his shorts off frantically. He allowed me to shift over slightly as he slid the shorts off. I resumed my position facing his as I straddled him. I rubbed myself back and forth rubbing against his hot swollen shaft. OMG! He was so god damn big! He captured my lips in a searing kiss, as grabbed me by the hips, lifted me and lowered me onto him.

"Baby, You're so damn tight, I don't know how long I can last." I threw my head back and bit my lip to keep from crying out in pleasure.

"God, Les. It feels so good. I've wanted you to be real for years, God how I've wanted you." He allowed me to remain still for a few moments to allow me to stretch to fit him.

As soon as he felt I was ready, he slowly raised me up and brought me back down onto his hard shaft. We kissed and nibbled ourselves into a frenzy, as we shared ourselves with each other. I was close to cumming and I could tell so was Les, his balls had shrunk slightly indicating he was going to cum. I began to ride him, grinding my clit into him everytime I sank down onto him. I was going to cum, and I knew it. I reached behind me, grasped his balls firmly in my hand and began to gently squeeze. He lasted about two seconds before he was pushed over the edge. As the first stream of Lester's hot juices pumped into me, I dropped over the edge as I came hard and intense. My walls contracted violently, milking him for all he was worth.

We sat holding each other shaking from our relase for over ten minutes. "Les?"

"Hmm?" He answered still in a daze.

"What does this mean for us?" I asked unsure how things would progress now.

"I'm falling for you Stephanie. I don't know how you feel though."

"Les. I've loved you for years, and I always will. Nothing will ever change that." I traced his lips with a fingertip.

"Good, because I love you, Baby." He hugged me close. "It's weird, it's like we've known each other for years. You just feel right, in my arms. Like it was destiny." He whispered into my ear. "Maybe this is the real reason we came to California. So I could find you." I nodded and slipped off of his lap.

"Les, we better get inside. It's getting late and I still have to prep the beds for the guys." He rose and handed me a towel. I wrapped my naked self in the oversized towel and waited for Les to join me. As he rose up, my eyes must have bugged out at the sight of his impressive package, because he laughed.

"Baby. Believe me, this is when it's normal. Wait until I get you inside and in bed." I shivered at the thought of him touching me again, it reignited the fire burning between my legs. He wrapped the towel around his waist, it rode dangerously low on his hips. We walked inside to find the guys engrossed in a Giant's baseball game. I gave a quick cheer when Madison Bumgarner struck out yet another batter in the ninth, giving the Giant's the win.

"MAD BUM!" The guys all stopped and looked at me like I was crazy. "What? It's a Giant's thing." I turned to Lester, "Sorry, but if Bumgarner comes knocking at my door for me, you're toast!" With that Ram doubled over with laughter as were Bobby and Hal. Ranger's eyes twinkled with laughter. Lester stood looking at me like he was going to spank me. "Eeek!" I squeeked, and made a mad dash for the stairs. Les caught up to me, tossed me over his shoulder and carried me up the stairs.

"Madison Bumgarner? Really?" He teased me as he set me down in my old room.

"He may be hot, but it's the middle of the season right now and he's got better things to do than me. Besides nothing would ever happen. He's a little quirky and he doesn't look nearly as good as you do." I trailed my finger down his chest to his abs, stopping short of the towel slung around his waist. "You are better than I had ever imagined. I mean, the Lester I imagined was like a 20 out of 10. You, my friend are 100 out of 10!" He gave me his trademark lopsided grin and pulled me close.

"Baby, You're going to love Trenton." I stilled at the mention of me leaving town. Could I go to Trenton? Should I? But the better question was would I?


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

I changed quickly into a pair of pj's I had left in my old room. I stepped out and was pulling fresh sheets out of the linen closet when Les came out of the bathroom. "Need some help?" He looked at me with a sparkle in his eye.

I giggled, "Help with making the beds for right now." I handed him a stack of sheets and pillowcases and walked down the hall to my brother's old bedroom. Les walked in and took a quick look around.

"Michigan, huh?" He pointed around the room. I nodded, smiling. Justin's room was covered in all things U of M.

"Yeah. He's in the architecture school there right now. He's almost done, graduates next April." Les helped me change the bedding on the queen sized bed. "So who do you think we should give this room to?"

Les, gave me a wicked grin. "Hal. He'll be so pissed. He went to Michigan State."

"He's a Sparty?" I chuckled, "He should feel right at home in this room with all the wolverine shit staring at him, along with all the 'Go Blue!' too." I shook my head in mock wonder, "And I thought I respected that man. Sparty my ass!" Les snickered.

"Where to next?"

"My parent's room. I think Ranger should have it. With his position and all, I think it would be best. Do you think?"

We walked in and Les's eyes bugged out. "This place is huge. Those are what... 14 foot ceilings?" I nodded and stripped the bed.

"Yeah, my mom fell in love with the openess of the floorplan as well as all the vaulted ceilings." We finished making the bed, I was slipping the pillow case onto the pillow when I heard Les suck in a sharp breath.

"A soaking tub, too?" I walked around the 3/4 wall surrounding the tub to see Les sitting in the empty tub marveling at the fact he fit. "This place is the shit!"

"The shower's to die for too." I pointed to a door in front of me and opened it to reveal an over sized tiled shower with raised quadrupal showerheads. "My stepdad is 6'2" so he needed the showerhead to be raised. They got carried away when they remodeled." Les's mouth dropped open, I tried really hard not to giggle. "We better get the bed in my old room changed before we do the beds downstairs."

I scooted out of the room and back down the hall. I waited for Les to follow and slowly pushed my door open to reveal a slice of my past. My old four poster bed was up against one wall, my desk and bookcases were still covered in old awards and pictures from high school. My closet held clothes that fit me now, because back in high school I was kinda chunky. My walls were still covered in old newspaper clippings about my friends and my alma mater. Les slowly walked around the room taking it all in. He traced a finger over one of my old marching band awards, then ran it along a shelf of my bookcase that held my academic awards. I pulled the closet door open, pulled an extra pillow out and left it slightly ajar.

As I tugged a new case onto the pillow, Les reached inside and pulled out my old letterman jacket. He held it up in the light checking it out. The white leather sleeves were still soft and supple, the royal blue wool was still bright, the yellow fuzzy hood had _Stephanie_ embroidered across it. A few patches from memorable events were stitched along the bottom of the hood, the school name was emblazened across the back of the jacket along with a fierce looking Wildcat. He turned it back to the front and laid it down on the bed to study what I had lettered in. A big golden W stood out against the bold royal blue. "Baby. What are these for?"

I craned my neck to see him pointing to the small patches sewn onto the W. "These four are for band, these three are for marching band, these three are for pep band, the two swimmers are from swim team, the one football, two basketballs, and two wrestlers are from when I was a Stat Girl." I pointed to a smaller patch under the W that said STAT.

"But Baby, there are two footballs." I hung my head down in embarassment, my face felt as if it were on fire.

"Yeah. I know. Can I tell you a secret?" I looked at him with a pleading look. He nodded and smiled. "I kinda played varsity football my Junior year." I stated quietly.

"NO SHIT!" Les practically yelled. "Are you shitting me? Did you play?" I bobbed my head back and forth from shoulder to shoulder, "I was allowed to participate in one play all season. That was the only game I was allowed to dress out for." I sniffled thinking back on it.

"Why?" Les stiffened.

"The coach hated me because I forced him into allowing me to join. Legally he only had to let me participate in one play to be considered part of the team. He had me practice with the guys, tackle against the guys, and train with the guys, but I never was really a part of the team. I ended up standing on the sidelines in my jersey and jeans after the first game." Les wrapped me into a warm embrace.

"I'm sorry Baby. What position did you play?" I blushed and dropped my head into my hands.

"Place kicker, punter and tmmmf." I mumbled the last one, hoping he'd drop the subject.

"And what was the third one?" He raised one eyebrow and I caved.

"Fine! I was a tightend! There... happy?" I stood there waiting for it... I knew it was coming. This was Lester Santos, and I knew there was a wisecrack coming my way.

He leaned back staring at my ass and waggled his eyebrows, "Some tightend you got there Toots!" He chuckled, I groaned.

"Come on. We still have to get the other beds done." We trudged down stairs to find the guys arguing as they flipped through the channels. I grabbed the remote and punched in a set of numbers hoping that it would appeal to them all. "Here! The military channel. This episode is about the sniper rifles family trees. I watched it last week."

Ranger lifted an eyebrow, "You watch this?"

"What? Since I started reading about Ram, I got interested in sniper stuff. Hal made me interested about the Seals, You, Ranger made me interested in Black Ops, Bobby got me interested in the medics, and well Lester... let's just say the Military Channel doesn't have what interests me about him." I chuckled and blushed. Bobby rolled his eyes, Ram ignored us all, as he was absorbed into the show, Ranger gave me an almost smile, Hal beamed at me, and Lester gave me a deep smoldering look. "Um, I'm going to finish making the beds. Hey Ranger, you can have the master bedroom. Upstairs down the hall to your right." He nodded and resumed watching the tv. "Hal, you're in my brother's old room." Trying to smile as sweetly as possible, "Upstairs down the hall, first door on your left. You should feel right at home." I turned to Bobby, "Bobby, I'm going to put you downstairs in the room on the right. Please, when Ram peels himself away from the tv, can you tell him he'll have the room on the left."

"Will do Sassy." Bobby winked.

"Les you can stay here if you want. I can finish the rest myself."

"Are you sure?" He rubbed my arm lightly.

"Yup. These should be real quick." I walked down the hall to the two downstair bedrooms, changed the bedding on both beds, remade them and trudged back upstairs to grab my pillow and a sleeping bag. I walked back down to find the guys watching me set my sleeping bag onto the floor of the family room.

Bobby shook his head. "What are you doing?"

I stopped unrolling my bag to look him in the eyes. "There isn't a bed in the last room, it's a computer room. So I'll sleep out here on the couch tonight."

"Like hell you will!" Lester barked out. "I'll sleep on the couch, I can't take a bed from you." I patted his arm and smiled.

"Les, I do it all the time. I usually fall asleep watching my recorded episodes of NCIS and end up here anyway. It's no big deal." I pointed toward the front of the house, "Or I can sleep in the truck."

"NO!" Five voices shouted in unison. I frowned, crossed my arms over my chest and pouted. "Baby, you can't be out there alone." Lester tried to explain, "We can't protect you if you're not even in the same building as us."

"Then what am I going to do?" I started to tap my foot, expecting an answer.

"You sleep in your old room, Santos sleeps on the couch." Ranger answered matter of factly.

I huffed out, "Fine!" and dragged the bag with me back up the stairs. A few minutes later I returned downstairs to find Bobby and Ram had turned in. Ranger, Hal and Lester were waiting for me.

"Baby, may I have a blanket?" Les seemed resigned to the fact he was going to sleep on my mother's couch.

"Ranger, Les can share a bed with me. As long as he keeps his hands to himself." I added the last part hoping it would change Ranger's earlier decision.

"Santos! Hands to yourself." Les grinned as his eyes sparkled. "I'm taking first watch, Ram has the second at 0200., Brown has 0400, Hal, you have 0600. Santos, you have Sassy duty all night." Ranger gave a barely there sigh and walked out the front door to make a quick sweep of the exterior.

"Baby, let's go to bed." Les led Hal and I up the stairs, I showed Hal to his room and waited as he opened it.

"NO FUCKING WAY! This has got to be a nightmare!" I patted Hal on the shoulder in a patronizing manner.

"What's the matter, Hal? Afraid Big Blue is going to eat you in your sleep?"

"Michigan sucks!" Hal lamented.

I left Hal to reconcile with the fact he was in Sparty hell for the night as I dragged Les into my old room. I stuck my head out into the hallway, "Hey, Hal?" I watched his head pop out, "Hal... if Wolverines suck... then Spartys swallow!" I slammed my door shut and giggled. Lester shook his head.

"Damn, Baby. You're gonna piss him off." We looked at each other considering that point, and in unison we both said, "Nahh!"

I climbed into the queen sized bed and waited for Les to join me. He stripped down to his boxers and slid in next to me. He pulled me into him tightly matching my back with his front, spooning me. I nuzzled into the crook of his arm that I found beneath my head and sighed contentedly. Les brushed the hair away from my ear and whispered, "Good night Baby. Tonight I let you sleep, but tomorrow, you're mine." He nibbled on the shell of my ear causing shivers to run down my spine.

"All yours, tomorrow." I smiled and drifted into a peaceful sleep. I woke once, sometime around 5am, to hear Hal snoring loudly from the next room. I turned over to face Les, snuggled my face into his chest and fell fast asleep


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

The feeling of a gentle caress from a finger on my cheek, drew me out of a really odd dream I was having. I dreamt that Ranger and his guys were real and protecting me from a pissed off gangster. I opened my eyes, focusing on the man who lay beside me. I sat up instantly, "OH SHIT!" There laying next to me was none other than Lester Santos! This wasn't a dream. It was real.

Les had an amused look on his face, "Morning Sunshine! Sleep well?" I slid back under the covers and snuggled into him.

"Mmm hmm. I thought I was dreaming about all of this, until I realized it was you laying with me." I admitted, feeling foolish. "What time is it?"

"0900. Ranger made coffee and Hal went and picked up breakfast." He lazily stroked my cheek with a fingertip. "We have a slight problem with our transfer paperwork for Johnson, so we'll be here until this afternoon."

"Okay. What do we do now?" I asked as I arched my back, stretching my muscles. Les growled and nipped at my neck playfully.

"We could go downstairs and get some breakfast. Or... we could stay up here for a while and I could wake you up properly." Les gave me a wolfish grin.

"Les, I would love to wake up the right way." I had no more said that, then a knock sounded at the door and Ram popped his head in.

"Santos. Sassy. Ranger says to be downstairs in 5." He noticed the intimate nature of our body positioning and chuckled as he shut the door quietly.

"Damn." I hissed, as I threw back the covers and rummaged through my dresser for clothes. Lester walked over, picked up a lacy pair of panties with his finger and held them up for a better inspection.

"I like these. Sexy." He breathed into my ear in a husky voice. I shivered and snatched them away from him, blushing.

"Get dressed, I'll meet you downstairs in a few minutes." He pulled on his cargos, pulled his t-shirt on over his head and headed out of the room carrying his socks and boots. I slipped into a matching blue bra and panty set from Victoria's Secret, slid into my jeans from the night before, donned a MASH novelty t-shirt, my sweatshirt and grabbed my boots and a clean pair of socks. I ran down the stairs and came face to face with a steaming cup of coffee held out by Ram.

"Morning Sassy. Coffee?" I snatched it out of his hands and drained almost half in one huge gulp. I dropped my boots and socks on the couch and walked into the kitchen. I traded the coffee cup Ram handed to me with my huge 64 ounce plastic coffee travel mug. Hal snickered at the sight of it.

"Damn. Think you need all that coffee?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and replied, "Yeah, and then some. I usually drink three of four of these in a day, if I can't get my caffine from Coke's." I downed another huge gulp, hoping the caffine would kick in soon.

Ranger handed me a small white paper bag, as I opened it I gave him a wide grin. "No wonder Steph loves you so much! Thank you." I pulled out a boston creme doughnut and bit in, enjoying it's sugary goodness. I sat on a stool at the breakfast bar, and watched Bobby finish a phone call. He snapped his phone shut and did not look pleased.

"Bossman. Tank's going to fax the paperwork to the Solano Sheriff's Office, _again!_ They should have it and processed by midafternoon." Ranger did not look happy at all, he was currently exuding a quiet dangerous vibe at the moment.

"Santos. Brown. You need to go back to Sassy's place with her and retrieve more clothes for her." Ranger barked clearly annoyed.

"Um... Ranger?" I stammered, trying not to piss him off anymore than he already was. "I packed all I had. That's it. I mean I have a couple of pairs of highheels left, but that's it. I need to go pick up some new clothes. I can go to my work and get what I need, and it's an easy place to secure." I hoped adding the last part would appease Ranger.

"Fine. Santos, Brown. Cover Sassy, be back before 1300." They nodded as I threw on my socks and boots. We walked out the door to my truck. Lester and Bobby were chuckling upon seeing the truck in the daylight for the first time.

"Looks even more intimidating in the sunlight. Twilight just does not do it justice." Bobby mused.

We climbed in and I sighed, "The store manager doesn't get there for another half hour. We're going to have to kill some time." I thought about what we could do in the meantime. "I could show you my favorite mudding spot. It's outside of town just past the store."

The grin on both Lester and Bobby's faces gave me all the incentive I needed. We rolled through town, the tires making their tell-tale whirring sound as they rolled on the asphalt. We pulled up to a huge field surrounded by a barbed wire fence. I hopped out, opened a gate, I motioned for Les to pull through, and pulled the gate shut behind us. I jumped back into the driver's seat, pushed my 4-wheel drive button on my dash and took off at full speed across the field. I cranked the wheel to the left sliding us into a turn, then whipped the steering wheel the opposite way to bring us into a slide in the opposite direction. Both Les and Bobby were grinning ear to ear, clearly enjoying themselves. By the time I had gone through my normal paces with the truck, she was still relatively clean. I rolled to a stop at the gate once more. Before I hopped out to open the gate, I pushed the 4-wheel drive button to disengage it. We pulled out of the field and headed for the store.

"Damn Sassy. You seem to have a way with your truck. I would have tipped us a couple of times, had I been driving. What was that place you took us?"

"A neighbor of mine owns it and lets my friends and I use it. He doesn't raise cattle on it anymore since star thistle took it over. He figured this was a good way of getting rid of it."

Les chuckled., "I wanna be his friend."

We pulled up in front of an older building built in a spanish revival style. We hopped out of the truck, I beeped it shut and we walked inside. Les stood at attention at the front door, as Bobby stood sentry at the rear door. My manager gave me a worried look unitl I assured her that I was experiencing some difficulties and that Les and Bobby were my bodyguards. She frowned and demanded to know what was going on. I reassured her that I was fine, I just needed clothes. I walked behind the counter and snagged a portable scanner.

"This will make checking out so much easier." Scanning as I went, I grabbed five pairs of boot cut blue jeans in my size, I snagged a whole armful of t-shirts, a couple packages of socks, and a ball cap. I perused through the button up shirts before deciding on a few sleeveless shirts. I dragged the items to the front counter and bagged my own items. I handed the scanner to my manager, and she tallied my total. I sighed as I handed my credit card over, knowing that it would take me at least two years to pay it off. Oh, well! At least I'll have to wear something, I thought to myself.

I dragged the bag over to Les who slung it over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing. He turned to my manager, "Steph is giving her notice. She's leaving town." With that he ushered me out to the truck.

I skidded to a stop, "What the hell was that?" I ranted at Les.

"Baby. You've gotta come to Trenton with us. You have no idea how long it'll take until Johnson calls off his people, it's not fair to have your manager hold your job." Les rubbed my shoulder trying to reassure me. "We'll get you a job when you get back."

I tried not to tear up, "I guess you're right. I just hate to leave like this." Les chucked the bag into the truck and wrapped me in a comforting hug.

"Baby. I know this is hard, but I just want to make sure you're safe until this is all over. After this is all done, you can come back here." He paused and looked deep into my eyes, "Or you can stay with me in Trenton." He dipped his head, captured my lips in a steamy kiss. Bobby cleared his throat and we broke apart, breathing heavily.

"Les, I don't know about all this yet. Please give me some time." I begged, keeping my voice low.

He lowered his mouth to my ear and whispered, "Baby. I'd wait a thousand years for you." I shuddered at his words and felt myself blush.

"We need to get back to the house." Bobby stated as he scanned the parking lot . He stilled and slowly reached for his weapon, "Santos, six o'clock." Les whirled around weapon drawn, and took in the scene behind him. Across the parking lot, a nasty looking man sitting in a beat up silver two door was watching us intently. He raised his hand, formed it into the shape of a gun and made the motion of firing his imaginary gun at us. He laughed as drove away. I started to shake, tears threatened to fall. It wasn't until they were sure he was gone, that Les wrapped me in his warm embrace.

"Baby. It's okay. We better get back to the house. I think Bobby better drive, he can lose a tail like nobody's business." We climbed up after I handed the keys to Bobby. We drove in silence, both Bobby and Les were on high alert, watching for trouble. We made a circuitous route back to the house, and parked. Ranger and Hal were waiting for us in the driveway, arms crossed and clearly upset.

"We just had a visit from VPD." Ranger looked like he was going to rip someone's throat out. "We need to talk inside."

"Shit." I knew this wasn't going to be good. Everytime Ranger told Stephanie Plum that they needed to talk, it was usually bad. We walked inside, as Ram stood guard at the door.

"Stephanie. Information from a confidential informant just confirmed the contract out on you. Johnson has offered 10 grand for the job." His eyes narrowed slightly, "This is exactly the reason why you need to come back to Trenton. You aren't going to be safe here without us."

"But..." I tried to object but the glares from the guys cut me short. "Fine. But what if this never goes away?" I was trying to put on a brave face, but the hint of tears at the corners of my eyes gave my true feelings away. It was too late, my tears fell unchecked, my bottom lip quivered.

"Sassy." Ranger came over and held me in a comforting hug. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there." I was amazed that Ranger was openly showing affection like this. Steph must have rubbed off on him, if even only a little. "This is not your fault. It's mine. You are now my responsibility. You're Rangeman's responsibility."

I wiped away my tears, "So what now?" I felt like a broken record, repeating those three little words so often.

"Ram and Bobby will pick up Johnson and transport him back to the plane. You will stay with Santos and Hal. Our flight leaves at 1500." With that he turned and walked away, pulling out his cell phone. I slumped down onto the couch, knowing I had lost a large portion of control over of my life. My freedom. I laid my head down on a pillow and closed my eyes hoping that I could relax.

An hour later I awoke, to find my head cradled in Les's lap and Hal rubbing my feet gently. I yawned and smiled, "What did I do to deserve this treatment?" The feeling of Hal's hands rubbing the tension out of my feet was almost too much. Les was rubbing my back in lazy circles as he watched tv.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Hal laughed softly. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I just feel bad for getting you into this situation, so I thought I could help make up for some of it by giving you a foot massage. Bomber loves 'em."

"Thank you Hal. I haven't had one in years, and it feels fantastic." I reached my arm out and hugged Les's legs. "What we watching?" I turned my head to the tv and smiled. "Please tell me that's what I think it is."

Lester's soft laugh broke the momentary silence. "We got bored and decided to watch your collection of recorded NCISepisodes. I give them credit for being the closest to the real thing so far, but I do have to tell you, I have never seen a lab tech that hot before."

Hal nodded, "God, what I wouldn't give for Deisel to pop Abby to life for me." I threw a pillow at Hal, hitting him upside the head and giggled.

"What no girlfriend Hal?" I asked genuinely interested in his love life.

"Nope. Last date I had was a disaster. But most women are put off by my size." He frowned as he watched the tv.

"Hal, honey." I sat up and patted his hand, "It will happen one day. You are a sweet, funny, caring and loving man. What girl wouldn't want you. Besides, I think your muscles are sexy." Hal blushed a deep red, as Lester growled from behind me.

"Baby, it's just not right to talk about another man's sexiness when I'm sitting right here." I turned to look at him, unsure if I had heard him correctly.

"Why? Are you jealous?" Okay, so baiting him probably wasn't the greatest idea I had, but it was interesting.

"After last night I was under the impression, you were mine." Lester slammed his blank face on, his voice flat.

"OH NO! Lester Santos! That blank face shit will not work with me. I've known about it for too long to let it bug me. Now drop it and talk to me like a normal human being." I was livid, nearly shouting at him. Only the sudden appearance of both Ranger and Bobby made me back off slightly. Slightly. "Just because I slept with you once does not mean that we're an item. I wish we were, but you know what? I don't really know how we could make it work. I mean think about it. I'm from California, you're from Jersey. Opposite sides of the country."

Lester dropped his blank face and replaced it with one of pain and discomfort. "Baby, I thought..." Being in what Steph called full rhino mode, I cut him off.

"Lester, you tell me how do we make this work. We've only known each other 24 hours. Why would you want me? I'm a walking disaster. I have a psycho ex-boyfriend, I have a contract out on my head, I just lost my job, thanks to you, and now I have to go into hiding in a town across the country!" I was pacing the floor in front of the tv, my rant had brought not only Ranger and Bobby, but Ram as well. I turned to Ranger, "How in the hell did you and Steph make it work?"

He narrowed his eyes, in thought, and stated, "We made it work." He turned away and poured himself a cup of coffee. Both Ram and Bobby wandered off to resume what ever they were doing before my little tirade.

"Baby. I know we've only known each other for a day, but don't you feel it? Doesn't it feel like we've known each other our whole lives? Doesn't it feel right?" He asked quietly fidgiting with his hands.

I sat next to him and leaned against him with my hands clasped together between my knees. "Les. I don't know. It's complicated."

He slid his arms over my shoulder and kissed the top of my head gently. "Baby. I can wait for you if you need the time. If you feel more comfortable we can date for a while." I smiled and nodded.

Stripping in my old room, I wrapped myself in a towel and walked into the bathroom to take a shower. The feeling of the warm water cascading over me seemed as if it were washing away the uncertanty and doubts I had about my current situation. I lathered the shower puff with the shower gel my mother had bought me for Christmas this past year, and it made me smile. A full bottle of Bulgari green tea shower gel was my most prized of presents, and I had been hoarding it for special occasions. If ever there was a time for something special, now was the time. I scrubbed myself, rinsed off and stepped out of the shower. I rewrapped myself into my towel and headed to my room.

I walked in to find Lester sitting on my bed waiting for me. I closed the door behind me quietly. "Baby, I'm sorry if I'm scaring you by being so forward." His gaze was focused on the floor and not on me. I lifted his chin and kissed his lips lightly.

Staring into his beautiful green eyes, I confessed. "Les, I know. I feel the same way you do, it's just... I'm a little scared. I haven't been in a relationship since the whole incident with my ex and it takes a little getting used to. I mean, the man I have dreamed about for years, imagined about for years, is telling me he wants a relationship with me. It's a shock, not that it's a bad one." He smiled weakly, nodding. "I never in my wildest dreams imagined that you were real. I wished for so long that you were, now that I know it's true, it's just..." I paused trying to find the words.

"Crazy?" He asked.

"That. And amazing. I have loved you for years, Les. My friends all thought I was crazy for falling in love with a fictional character, but I couldn't help myself. I know it sounds so far fetched, but it's the truth."

"Baby. I understand, believe me when I tell you that." He pulled me into a hug, resting his head on my chest. I could hear him sniff and stiffen. "What is that smell?"

I giggled, "Bulgari Green Tea shower gel my mother bought for me for Christmas this past year."

He relaxed, and teased me, "And you say that you love me, but you smell like Ranger." I shrugged my shoulders and dropped my towel. "But you certainly don't look like him." He nuzzled his face into my chest, capturing one of my nipples in between his teeth. I moaned and leaned my head back enjoying the feeling of his hot mouth on my skin. He teased it into a tight bud and gave the other nipple equal attention. As his hands began to slide down my stomach, a knock sounded at the door. He groaned, turned me to face away from the door and stood to shield me from anyone who would enter.

I snatched up my towel and answered in a breathy voice, "I'll be out in a minute." I blushed at the thought of getting interupted yet again. Caressing the side of his face I whispered to Les, "Tonight. We have tonight." I tugged my clothes on under his watchful eyes and ran a comb through my long brown hair. After containing it into a ponytail we walked out and down the stairs.

Ranger stood at the foot of the stairs, "Ram and Bobby are picking up Johnson now. They're meeting us at the jet. We better get a move on."

Turning to Les, I said, "I better make a quick phone call to my mom before we leave or else she'll flip when I'm not here when she gets back." Both Ranger and Les nodded.

"Just make sure not to tell her any details about where you'll be and for how long." I pulled out my cell phone and dialed my mother's number and put it on speaker phone for all three of us to hear.

"Hello?"

"Mom?"

"Hi Honey. We'll be home day after tomorrow. Is everything alright?"

I looked at Les who smiled, "Yeah. I spent the night at the house with a couple of friends so don't be alarmed if some things are out of place. Look, I'm going away for a while. I just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Where are you going Sweety?"

Damn my mother for being nosey. "I'm going to hang out with some friends and relax. I'm not sure when I can call, but I will call you when I can."

She sounded suspicious but didn't ask any further. "Alright. Be safe."

"Thanks Mom."

"I love you Sassy."

"Love you too Mom. I gotta go, we're leaving now."

"Bye Sweetheart."

"Bye Mom." I snapped my phone shut as my shoulders drooped.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Backing my truck out of the driveway I asked Ranger, "Okay, where to?"

"Travis. Our plane is waiting on us." I nodded and headed south.

Now being the stepdaughter of an airman, I had grown accustomed to the sights and sounds of Travis Air Force Base just south of Vacaville. It was the western hub for C-130's and other cargo planes that the Air Force used. As a kid growing up, I had made almost daily trips on base and knew it fairly well. I pulled up to the gate, pulled out my driver's license and waited for the guard to check us over. Ranger rolled down the rear window where he was sitting and flashed his ID. The guard recognized it immediately and waved us through with a salute. Winding through the streets of the base is pretty much like driving through a small city. I pulled out towards the flightline and parked in the long term parking lot near the main building. Grabbing my purse, I hopped out and beeped the locks after the guys exited.

Ranger led us alongside the building and towards the tarmac. We stepped past the guard after Ranger again showed his ID. The sight of the Rangeman jet was breathtaking. The sleek black jet was warming up, I could see the pilot doing his checks in the cockpit as both Ram and Bobby waited for us at the bottom of the stairs.

"All squared away, Boss." Ram said, smiling at me with a wink.

Bobby slung an arm over my shoulders, "Sassy, you don't get airsick do you?" I shook my head, and smiled. "Good."

We climbed into the jet and I was stunned. The interior was beautiful. Black leather couches lined the sides and a coffee table split the cabin in two. "Where's Johnson?" I asked, curious.

"There's a special seat for him in the rear of the jet." Hal joked and settled into one of the incredibly confortable couches. I sat next to Les and buckled my belt, watching the others as they settled. Even before take off most of the guys were asleep. I leaned my head back as Lester pulled me over towards him slightly.

"Baby? You ready to see my world?" I nodded, yawning.

"Yup." That was the last thing I said before I fell into a deep sleep.

Lester was shaking me gently, "Baby. We're almost there. Baby?" I opened my eyes and focused on Les leaning over watching me. I had fallen asleep and laid in his lap the entire flight.

"Hi." I whispered.

"Hi." His lopsided grin made me feel warm and fuzzy. "Hey, Beautiful is going to meet us at the airfield. I know you'll want to meet her." I bolted upright.

"Stephanie Plum is meeting us?"

"Yeah, but it's Manoso now. She and Binky are waiting for us."

"Oh, boy!"

We landed at a nondescript airfield on the edge of Trenton. After taxiing to the unmarked hanger, we disembarked. I was stunned as I walked down the steps. I watched as Ranger wrapped his arms around the petite woman sporting a head full of wild curls. A man just as buff as Lester with a baby face stood at parade rest along side her. Ranger leaned down and whispered something into her ear, her head popped up and her gaze fixed on me. She bounded over and stopped just in front of me.

"Hi. I'm Stephanie Manoso." She stuck her hand out, "You can call me Steph." He cute smile made my fear fall away instantly.

"Hi. I'm Stephanie Wilson. But you can call me Sassy." I shook her hand and stammered, "I can't believe I'm meeting my hero."

She blushed, "I'm no hero. All I do is blow up cars and get into trouble."

Lester came over and slung his arm over my shoulder. "Looks as if you have a twin Beautiful. Baby, here, is an awful lot like you." She gave Les a funny look, and narrowed her eyes at me.

"Are you two...?" Les smiled and I blushed. "I knew it! Ranger said you were in love, Les." Lester gave him a dirty look then smiled at me.

"Well, we're trying to take things slow." Ranger walked up behind Steph and wrapped his arms around her.

"Santos, your definition and my definition of slow are two different things." Steph watched the banter between the two before she pulled me aside.

"Sassy. Look, Lester is my best friend. I want him to be happy, but if you hurt him, I'll kick your ass." She warned.

"Steph, hurting him is the last thing I want to do to him. Believe me." I tried to diffuse the situation with my smile. I knew she wasn't trying to be mean, she just wanted to let me know she was there to protect Lester. "We are going to try to take things slow and see what happens." She nodded and led me back to the waiting SUV's. I heard a commotion behind us and watched Ram leading a shackled Johnson off the jet.

"You bitch! You're as good as dead! Ranger and his men can't protect you forever!" He shouted as he struggled against his cuffs. He tried to break free from Ram, but he held Johnson tight and 'accidentally' bumped him against the rear of the SUV. HARD.

"Oops. Damn Johnson, you gotta stop walking into things." Ram chuckled as the skip swore a blue streak.

I cringed and felt like I was going to cry again, Steph put her hand on mine and patted it. Lester walked over to me pulled me into his arms and rubbed my back soothing me. He pulled away enough to capture my lips in a kiss, making everything else disappear. A few moments later, we pulled apart. I could hear Binky asking the other guys who I was.

"Binky." He called out. The younger man ran over to us and snapped to next to us.

"Hey, Les. Who's this gorgeous thing?" He held out his hand and I shook it. Before I could pull away, he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the back of my hand. I blushed and Lester growled.

"Back off, Binky. She's mine." Binky chuckled and winked at me.

"Hi, Binky. I'm Sassy. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, Sweet-thing. If you ever get tired of Les, let me know." He walked away with a little swagger.

"I'm going to kick his ass." Les grumbled before hugging me tight once again.

Sitting in the back of the SUV with Les was nice. He held me close and occasionally kissed my temple. We were riding with Ranger, Steph and Bobby. Ram, Binky and Hal were transporting Johnson to TPD in their SUV. Happy not to be near him I relaxed. I watched the scenery pass by as we headed over to Trenton PD. As we rolled along I practically jumped out of my seat when I saw the sign for the Tasty Pastry. Les smiled, knowing I was living a dream of mine. Even with it being after 10 PM, the streets weren't empty. We passed by Sal's Meat Market and pulled up in front of TPD.

Ranger and Bobby exited the SUV and followed Hal and Ram who were escorting Johnson into the back door. "Les, how long do we have to be here?" I asked quietly, hoping to find some quiet time with him.

Before he could answer, someone knocked on the side window. Fearful, I looked out and saw a good looking tall dark haired man standing there, his hands on his hips. Steph powered the window down, "Joe."

"Cupcake. You okay?" He asked, concern filled his voice. "I heard Johnson screaming about some 'Bitch'." He used his fingers to add an air quote to the last word.

"Nope. Not me this time. He's pissed at Sassy." She jerked her thumb back towards me. He stuck his head in the window and saw me sitting with Les.

"Hey. I'm Detective Joe..." I cut him off.

"Joe Morelli! Oh my god! It's you!" I scrambled out of the SUV and gave him a quick hug. "Oh, uh... sorry about that." I blushed. "I've always wanted to meet you." He beamed as he took in the sight of me. Les stepped out of the SUV and placed his arm over my shoulders, effetively claiming me as his territory. Noticing, Joe rocked back onto his heels, placed his hands in his pockets and smiled.

"I should have known."

Lester sneered at Joe, "Morelli. She's mine, back off. She's not your concern, we protect our own." One could almost reach out and touch the tension in the air, it was so tangible.

Joe turned his attention back to me,"You're not from Jersey are you? Sounds more like California to me."

I perked up, "Yeah. Northern California. I've never been to New Jersey before. It wasn't until yesterday that I found out the truth about all of you." I admitted. I lowered my gaze to the asphalt, kicked a tiny pebble and then added. "You know, Detective, I do have to admit up until now, I used to think you were kinda a jerk." Steph snorted, covering her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Joe, I think you better lay off before your new girlfriend catches you with Lester's girlfriend." Steph warned with a smile.

He blanched at the thought, "Damn. She'll skin me alive." I giggled, thinking he probably would enjoy it.

Ranger and the guys walked back to the SUV's and as they approached I saw Ranger stiffen slightly at the sight of Joe. "Morelli." He stated simply.

"Manoso." He turned back to me, "It was nice to meet you... I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

"Stephanie Wilson. But you can call me Sassy."

He chuckled and looked at both Ranger and Lester. "And I thought one Stephanie was bad. Good luck, you're going to need it." He walked back into TPD, leaving the rest of us standing in the parking lot. Lester growled, Ranger looked like he could kill Joe without a second thought and Steph was biting her lip knowing that Joe was still stiring up trouble for her.

A while later we pulled into the underground parking garage at Rangeman Inc. A whole group of men were patiently waiting for us. As soon as I stepped out of the SUV, I immediately knew who I wanted to meet first. I elbowed Les and hissed, "Oh my god, Tank is HUGE!"

I heard a booming laugh, turned and saw a man bigger than I thought was humanly possible standing before me. He was 6'9", 350 pounds of pure muscle, bright brown eyes and a smile to die for. "Welcome to Rangeman. I'm Tank. Ranger has told me all about you Ms. Wilson."

I smiled sheepishly, shaking his massive hand politely with my comparitively tiny one. "Hi. Please call me Sassy, everyone does."

Tank turned around to the crowd of men, "This is Stephanie Wilson. Until further notice, she is under Rangeman's protection. She will have a 24 hour guard and a minimum two vehicle escort when she leaves the premisis."

They all sized me up and I think a few even licked their lips. Les walked up behind me placed his hands on my hips and glared at the men. "Hands off, she's mine." I heard Tank's booming laugh once more.

"You can call me Sassy. Nice to meet you all." Within a few seconds, I was surrounded by the guys who introduced themselves to me. After meeting them all, I felt almost giddy. I had met the men of Rangeman. OMG! The girls back home were never going to believe me.

We made our way up to conference room A on 5. Lester seated me next to him near the head of the table. Ranger, Tank, Stephanie, Bobby, Ram, Hal, Cal and myself were seated around the sleek black oval conference table, the rest of the men stood along the walls.. Ranger stood and all small talk ceased. "A contract has been taken out on Sassy by Marcus Johnson. She witnessed our takedown of him in front of her home yesterday morning. He has since had a lackey set fire to the entire floor of the hotel we were using as a base of operations. Sassy is under our protection until further notice. Johnson has made it clear that he wants her dead." He scanned the room. "Anyone have anything to add?"

Bobby looked like he was going to die. "Bossman. I do."

"Report." Ranger barked, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly, clearly pissed.

Bobby told him all about the creepy guy in the silver car along with the finger gun. Ranger looked like he was going to tear Bobby's head off. I felt horrible for him, because I knew that both Bobby and Lester would be called to the mats for our little oversight. I patted Lester's knee, showing him I knew what was coming for him.

"This changes the game." Ram said. "This means that the idiots are actively looking for Sassy now. And now Johnson knows she's here in Trenton, she's just as much at risk here than when she was in California. The only difference is we're here and not there." My face went from the best blank stare I could muster, to utter frustration and fear. Les cradled me in his arms as I began to feel ill.

"Baby. You don't look so good." I jumped up and ran to the nearest waste basket, puking my guts out. It effectively cleared out the room, leaving Lester, Steph and Ranger with me.

Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I appologized. "I'm so sorry. I just..." I frowned not knowing what to say.

"It's alright Baby. You're just overwhelmed right now." Lester patted me on the back and carried the wastebasket out of the room.

"Sassy, let's get you cleaned up." Steph walked me to the bathroom knocked on the door. She stuck her head in to double check none of the guys were inside and led me in. I rinsed my mouth out and splashed cool water on my face.

Patting my face dry with a towel, I leaned against the counter and told Steph, "You know when I said you were my hero." She nodded , "I wasn't kidding. You are the bravest person I have ever met. It's because of you, I survived a horrible attack from an ex-boyfriend. I kept telling myself that if you could escape from Stiva I could escape from Brian." I whispered, "Since I started reading Janet's books, I have felt this weird connection with you. It wasn't until after I read the first book, I blew up my first car."

She giggled and asked, "You really blew up a car?"

"Yeah, it was a old beater Rav 4. I parked it at the mall and headed inside. When I came out, guy was leaning against the car smoking. I chased him off, and in the process he dropped his cigarette onto the hood. I picked it up and threw it over my shoulder. I didn't know it but the fuel tank had a slow leak. The cigarette caught the wet gas on fire, by the time I saw it, I had two seconds before it blew. I made it behind the tree about 10 feet away, when it blew." She was laughing holding her side.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh. But it's so damn funny to know I'm not the only one that does stupid stuff like that."

"Yeah, well, the local fire department hates me. In the last year I've wrecked or burned 4 cars. The only one I haven't ruined is my truck. I hardly drive it because I don't want it to get ruined."

"It really is like meeting my twin." Steph said quietly, fiddling with one of the faucets. "Let me guess, you've got scars too." She pulled her shirt off over her head. I looked at the scars she had on both of her shoulders, she lifted her hair off of her forehead to show a gouge just below her hairline. "I've been shot in the right shoulder twice, the left once..."

I cut in, "The ass once, and too many close calls. I also know you got shot in the chest once when you wore a bullet proof vest that Ranger doesn't know about."

She smiled weakly, "Yeah, I think he'd blow a gasket if he ever did find out. You won't tell him, will you."

"Nope. I promise. I know what it's like to have someone try to kill you. We girls have to stick together." I smiled and took my shirt off. "My ex, Brian, gave me these." I showed her my scars, "And he shot me in both thighs with a .22, noth through and throughs."

She reached over and hesitantly pulled me into a hug. Just as we were about to pull apart Vinnie walked into the bathroom and stopped short. "Oh, uh... sorry." He backed out and closed the door. We pulled apart and started to giggle, soon it was full out laughter, tears streamed down our faces and we were bent over holding our sides when Les and Ranger walked in.

"Babe?" His eyes darted from Steph to me and back again. We looked at each other and laughed harder, Steph started to snort and I was full blown crying.

Les shook his head and muttered, "Damn women. I can never figure them out." He walked over and wrapped his arms around me, rolling his eyes. Ranger had Steph in a similar embrace, and soon enough we had calmed down enough to tug our shirts back on. Les leaned down and whispered into me ear, "Baby, I didn't know what the hell was going on. I walk in and you both had your shirts off, dying laughing. What's a man to think?"

I wiped the tears away, "I'm sorry Les. We were comparing scars." Ranger lifted his eyebrow.

"Babe. Comparing scars?" Steph rolled her eyes.

"What? Girls do it, too." We broke the embraces our men had on us and stood side by side. "Ranger, Les, meet _my_ twin." Steph pointed at me.

I nodded, "Les, Ranger, meet _my_ twin." I pointed at Steph. "I never realized how much we're really alike. Maybe Morelli was right. You two are in for a heap of trouble." I winked at Steph and we walked out of the bathroom arm in arm.

Les and Ranger followed us back to the conference room as I grabbed my purse. "Sassy, you have two choices. You can stay in an vacant apartment on 4 or you can stay with Santos in his apartment on 4." I bit my lip, unsure if Les would really want me in his space.

"Baby, I offered for you to stay with me. But it's totally up to you. What do you want?"

I stood there knowing what I wanted, but scared of saying it. Deciding that life was too short for bullshit, I opened my mouth. "She'll stay with you Les." Steph to the rescue. "She's afraid you don't want her in your personal space." I silently thanked Steph with a single smile.

"Do you want to stay with me, Baby?" Les asked, holding me close. I nodded and nuzzled my head into his shoulder. "Beautiful? How did you know what she would want?"

She smiled and winked at me, "ESP Les, ESP." We giggled and walked out of the room.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Sitting on Les's incredibly comfortable couch was more than heavenly. He walked back out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. "You hungry, Baby?"

"Yeah, I didn't think I would be with everything that's happened, but I am." He reached for the landline and quick dialed a number. He murmured a few words and then hung up. "Baby, Ella's going to drop off something for us in 30."

"Ella? Oh, my god! I get to meet Ella!" I was almost bouncing from excitement.

"Relax, Baby. She'll love you. And she's a great cook." He grinned and snuggled up to me on the couch. "Why don't you take a shower before she comes."

"I guess. Just don't let me miss her." I warned and jumped up. "Um, Les? Where's the bathroom?" He stood up, grabbed my hand and led me down the hallway to the bathroom. He handed me a towel and kissed me gently.

"Don't take too long, Ella will be here in 22." He swatted my ass and chuckled as he returned to the living room.

I stepped into the shower after disrobing, letting the water cascade down my face. I had a lot happen in the last 24 hours and I couldn't wait for all this chaos to end. While I scrubbed my hair, I thought about how many nights I lay awake wishing things were different. Wanting to get away from Brian and the bad memories, I thought that moving to Trenton could be the new start I needed. Les wanted me, and for the love of god, I knew I wanted him. It was a no brainer. Rinsing off, I realized my mother would come unglued when she found out what had happened. She would freak if she found out about the truth about Les and the guys. Guess, I better keep tight lipped about that part. I stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself. I grabbed a brush from my purse and ran it through my wet tresses. I realized I didn't have any pj's, I had left the ones I had from last night at my mom's house. Shit! I stepped into the hallway, "Les?"

He popped his head around the corner, "Yeah, Baby?"

"Um, can I borrow one of your old t-shirts? I forgot my pj's at my mom's." The lopsided grin that I was treated to foretold me of a smartass comment coming my way.

"Baby, who says you need pj's?" He waggled his eyebrows.

"Les, I need something to wear for when Ella gets here. I can't meet her naked." I stuck my tongue out at him and giggled.

"The third drawer down on my dresser has t-shirts, top drawer has boxers." He swept me into a tight hug, "I can't guarantee you'll be dressed by morning."

I kissed him slowly, drawing my tongue along his bottom lip. "I'm counting on it." I slipped out of his arms and back into the bedroom. I dug out a t-shirt and pair of boxers and dressed. I walked out and Les just about nutted his pants.

"Damn, Baby! I love that shirt on you." I looked down to see one of his Army shirts, and grinned.

Just then a knock sounded at the door. Lester walked over and opened it, to find Ella pushing a cart into the room. Ella was about 60, 5'4", greying brown hair, sweet motherly face and a sweet smile. She stopped the cart in the kitchen and walked over to me, drawing me into a warm embrace. "Stephanie. It's so good to meet you, I'm Ella." I stood there in awe. This was the famous Ella of Rangeman Inc.

"It's so good to finally meet you. I have always wondered what you were like. You're so much better than I imagined." She smiled and patted my hand. I stopped and debated whether to ask her what I was thinking. "Ella. Can I ask you something?"

"What is it Dear? She looked at me intently.

"I need a favor. I lost all my clothes yesterday, I managed to buy a few essentials, but I was wondering if I could trouble you for some hair conditioner. Les doesn't have any, and my hair is suffering." I pulled my hair over my shoulder to show her.

"Oh, dear! I'll have some shampoo and conditioner for you tomorrow. I know, around here only a few of the boys use it." She smiled and headed for the door. "Lester?"

"Yeah?" Les raised his face out from under a domed lid on the cart.

"I'll collect the cart and dishes in the morning. Have a nice evening."

"Good night Ella." I called after her as she shut the door.

We sat down at the table and filled ourselves with Ella's cullinary wizardry. I was stuffed and watched Les refill his plate for a third time. Les looked at my face and chuckled, "Baby, I have a high metabolism." I nodded and watched him finish his dinner. By the time we were done it was almost 1 AM. I yawned and tried desperately to keep my eyes open. Les lifted me into his arms and walked to the bedroom. Laying me gently onto the bed, he tugged the shirt off of his body, dropped his pants and slid onto the bed with me. "Baby, let's get some sleep. We have a busy day planned for tomorrow." I yawned again and snuggled into his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

Morning broke in the form of an alarm blaring into my ears. I groaned and tugged the pillows over my head. I felt a hand slide up my leg, closer and closer to where I really wanted it to be. I tried to stay still and enjoy, but Les decided to run a finger behind my knee, causing me to jerk and giggle. "I knew it! You're ticklish." He slid next to me drawing me into his arms. He lowered his lips to mine and made me forget everything but him. When we broke apart, he turned his head to look at the clock. "Shit! Baby, you can sleep in or you can come to the gym with me." I debated sleeping in, but decided that the sight of more than one hot guy working out was more than worth the few extra hours of sleep. Besides, I could take a nap later. Yay, me!

I tamed my hair, brushed my teeth and pulled on a bra and panties. I donned one of my new t-shirts emblazened with a rebel flag and the words 'Chicks Dig Rednecks' and pulled Les's boxers back on. Walking out to the front room to put on my socks and boots, I noticed a brand new pair of black tennies and a small stack of clothes in my size. I smiled finding a pair of spandex work out shorts. I swapped Les's boxers for the shorts and put on the tennies. Knowing Lester had already gone down to the gym, I tried to remember what floor the gym was on. I was pretty sure it was on the 3rd floor, so when I entered the elevator I hit the button for 3. When the doors slid open I walked down a short hallway, and heard the grunts, groans and puffing from the gym. I stopped at the door and stared. I had never seen to many hot guys working out in one place before. I noticed Steph running on a treadmill and headed in her direction.

"Hey, Steph." I said as I climbed onto the treadmill next to her. I set it to a leisurely pace and warmed up by walking.

"Morning." She mumbled. I noticed she wasn't really a morning person fairly quickly. "Les and Ranger are on their run right now. They'll be back in an hour." I smiled and kicked up the speed on the treadmill to a full out run. I ran like that for a good 45 minutes before I noticed a couple of the guys watching me. I smiled at them and resumed my run. Another 30 minutes later Les walked in and watched me comfortably running at a flat out sprint. He dabbed at the sweat running down his face as he winked at me. "You almost ready to get cleaned up and get some breakfast?"

I slowed the treadmill down a bit and went into my cool down routine. Twenty minutes later we were walking back to his apartment. We both showered and dressed. Les in his typical black shirt, black cargos and black boots. Myself in my jeans, tshirt and boots. I tucked my Glock into the waistband of my jeans before we headed out of the apartment. Les led me up the stairs to 5, stopping briefly in the control room to double check that it was staffed properly. I noticed one of the guys that stared at me this morning was on monitor duty. After we walked out, I whispered to Les, "Les, who was that at the monitors?"

"Chip. He's been here maybe a few months. Why?" Les pulled us to a stop and looked into my eyes.

I shuffled my feet, "Umm, nothing." God, I was such a bad liar!

"Baby?" I could tell by his tone, he wasn't going to let it go.

"He and another guy were staring at me this morning, I smiled back not thinking about it. But now when I think about it, something feels wrong. I don't know... I don't want to get anyone into trouble or fired, but he feels off somehow." He nodded and looked genuinely concerned.

"Baby. When Beautiful gets those feeling we usually don't ignore them. ESP, sixth sense, what ever you call it, it's helped us on more than one occasion. So if you feel something isn't right, I'll look into it." I smiled and nodded, hoping I didn't just get an innocent man fired.

We found a small hole in the wall diner a few streets over from the Rangeman building on Haywood, and of course we had an escort. Hal, Binky and Cal joined us for breakfast. It was so much fun getting to know the guys individually. I really loved talking with Cal, he was such a cool guy. It was unfortunate that most women were put off by the flaming skull tatoo on his forehead. Feeling a little brave, I asked him, "Cal, can I touch your tatoo?"

"Sure Sassy." He leaned forwards and I ran my fingertips over the marked skin. I marveled at how smooth and soft his skin was and I gigled.

"Thanks. I've wanted to do that since last night when I met you. It's so cool. I thought about getting a tattoo, but never could come up with one I liked well enough to have for the rest of my life." I turned to Les, "You don't have any besides your tribal bands and Ranger tattoo do you?"

He shook his head, "Nope."

I smiled and ran a finger down his chest lightly, I leaned forward and whispered into his ear, "Can I check for myself?" I bit my lower lip imagining him naked as I explored his body. His eyes darkened and he gave me a wolfish grin, knowing that searching for tattoos wasn't really what I had on my mind. I kissed him gently on the lips and giggled. We ate in companionable silence until I looked up and noticed a group of thugs watching us. "Uh, Les..." He looked up at me, smiling.

"Baby, just act as if they're not even there. They are trying to scare you. We're going to pay for the food and get back to Haywood. Just try and act natural." He lifted his hand signaling the waitress for the check. The four scary men were sitting at the counter, turned so they could watch our every move. After the waitress handed Les the check he flipped open his wallet and handed her a large sum and smiled. "Keep the change."

I stood up and a wall of black clad men surrounded me, Les had his hand at the small of my back. The four men that had been watching us, stood on their feet. I could sense the Rangemen tense, as we passed by. The shortest of the thugs snickered, "Bitch thinks they're going to stop us." I paled, but kept walking silently. Les and the guys all had their blank looks on their faces, but his slipped every so slightly at the thugs comment. We hustled out of the diner and to our vehicles. Binky and Cal each did a quick sweep of the SUV's for anything suspicious, finding nothing. We pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to Haywood.

I was trying not to show I was as scared as I really felt. Biting my bottom lip, I hoped we'd make it back without any problems. Of course, I spoke too soon. I felt that something was wrong, and turned in my seat to see a small two door POS Acura following us six cars back. "Uh, Cal. The red Acura, six cars back, I've got a bad feeling about it." He looked in the rearview mirror and nodded.

"He's been following us for the last two blocks. I've got eyes on him, Sassy."

I frowned and watched as the car sped up, weaving through the other vehicles, to get closer to us. In a sudden burst of speed, Cal gunned the engine and shot down the street with our other two SUV's. Hot on our tail, a man leaned out of the passenger window of the POS, aimed a gun at us and fired two consecutive shots. One hit the rear door and the second went wide. Cal swerved the SUV, as the other two SUV's driven by Hal and Binky moved in behind us blocking the POS. The driver of the POS managed to squeeze himself hetween Hal and Binky, and the shooter popped out from the sunroof. He aimed one more time at us and fired. Cal quickly corrected his steering to compensate for the blown out rear tire, after the bullet ripped throught it. Hal radioed to Binky, and they sandwiched the POS between their SUV's. the sound of grinding metal and crunching glass was loud enough for us to hear even pulling away at a high rate of speed. As we darted away, I could see Hal and Binky exit their vehicles with weapons drawn, holding the men inside the POS at gunpoint until TPD could arrive.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Holy SHIT!" I screamed, "What the hell?" I was royally pissed more than scared. "They shot at us!"

Les gave me a grimmace and shook his head. "Those fuckers really thought they could get at us. How stupid did they think we are?"

Cal chuckled, "Stupid fuckers." He tore into the garage at Rangeman and they both covered me into the building. Ranger waited for us just inside the doorway on 5.

"Report!" He barked, as he marched into the conference room. I wanted to shrink into a ball in the corner and cry. I was causing nothing but trouble for Ranger, Les and the guys. Ranger noticed me fighting my instincts to run, "Sassy. Sit." He ordered, pointed to the chair next to him. I dropped into the chair and squeezed my hands in my lap, feeling like I just got called into the principal's office.

Lester told him about the POS and exactly what had happened, even down to me picking up our tail and the funny feeling I got. Ranger looked at me, he was processing the info about my bad feeling about the situation. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "How did you know?"

I shrugged, "I just had a feeling. It starts in my gut and then into my chest. It's like the feeling I get when I'm in a place that's really high up. The hairs on my arms stand up and I start looking around trying to figure out what's going on."

He nodded, and looked at Les. "Sound like someone we know?" Lester sighed and nodded.

"Baby? How long have you had this 'sixth sense'?" I frowned thinking back.

"Maybe a few years..." I trailed off, eyes wide and mouth open. "Oh, my god! It didn't start until after I started to read the books!" I dropped my head into my hands. "Why me?" I asked to no one in particular.

"We'll talk about this later. Right now, you are no longer to leave this building, period." Ranger said calmly. Les held me tight in an embrace as he knelt in front of me. I nodded slowly understanding that the whole situation had changed dramatically. "If they are motivated enough to attack you while under guard, they will not hesitate to attack you again if you leave." He looked like he was contemplating a possible resolution to this situation.

"What can I do? I can't just sit here doing nothing. I want to do something to help." I pleaded with Ranger.

"I can have you help with research on this case. My Babe can show you what to do." He answered, looking slightly touched I would want to participate in halting the current situation I was in. "Sassy. I trust you will stay within the confines of this building?"

"Yes, Sir." I answered calmly and as truthfully as I could. I did not need to piss him off, it would lead to bad things. Very bad things indeed.

Hal and Binky arrived an hour later, smirking as they saw me sitting on the couch in the break room alone. "Sassy. You left some pretty pissed off guys with us back there." Binky teased, brushing a lock of my hair out of my eyes. "They didn't want to talk about the contract out on you. That was until I told them Ranger was pissed. Then they sang like canaries." Hal chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"That is so cliche Binky." Hal sighed and sat next to me. I leaned over and placed my head onto his well muscled arm. "You were lucky this time." He patted my hand with his. "You're going to drive Lester nuts worrying about you, you know that?" I smiled weakly.

"He's worried?"

"For a woman with a supposed 'sixth sense' you can be pretty dense." He smirked, I lightly punched him on the arm. "He's beside himself right now. Never seen him like this with anyone except Bomber."

"You think this will blow over soon?" I asked, fiddling with the hem of my sweatshirt.

"I'd like to hope so. But I think it's going to take a long time before it happens." He wrapped an arm over my shoulder and leaned back on the couch. Binky had turned a chair backwards and sat, leaning his chin onto his crossed arms on the back of the chair. We sat chatting about life at Rangeman when Les running in at a flat out sprint, he slid across the floor as he tried to stop.

"BABY!" He huffed out, looking upset. I jumped to my feet and grabbed him to keep him from falling to his feet.

"What? Is everything alright?" I asked, my voice frantic. Just then, the guys all received simultaneous messages on their phones.

"Some bastard shot Chip. Ranger and Bobby are headed to St. Francis, Tank is in the control room. Tank ordered me to take you to my apartment and keep you there. Hal, Binky, you two are to report to Tank immediately." They both hopped to their feet and raced out of the room. Les helped me to my feet and guided me to his apartment.

Once inside, I started to pace back and forth in front of the tv. I was trying desperately to keep from losing my mind. Les sat on the couch and watched me walk back and forth, like a really, really bad ping pong game. He finally stood on his feet reached out, grabbed me by the arms and hugged me tightly. The feeling of his arms wrapped around me, made me feel like I could finally slow down and relax. I slumped into his arms, he picked me up, cradling me in his arms against his chest. I whimpered, "Les. Please help me."

He lowered his lips to mine, drawing me in, making me forget the outside world. I moaned, my arms wrapped around his neck pulling him closer. I gently nipped his lower lip, garnering a low moan. His teeth captured mine, in a tit-for-tat. I snaked my tongue out and playfully touched it to his. Les swept my mouth with just the very tip of his tongue, the feeling sent little shivers down my spine. He carried me to the bedroom, never breaking the kiss. He gently laid me down on the bed, covering my body with his. A warm surge of heat flooded my body as he overwhelmed my senses.

Les raised his head slightly, breaking the contact of our lips. I whimpered at the sudden loss of the feeling of his lips. "Les, please. Make love to me." I begged wanting... no, needing him to be closer. He gave me his best wolf smile and rose off of the bed. I almost cried when he moved away from me, but I realized it was only temporary. He stripped off his boots and socks, pulled his shirt off over his head, exposing his chest and abs. I almost fainted at the sight of them. He was so delicious looking, like a caramel sundae. The amazing 8 pack he sported was only outdone by his massive and perfectly sculpted chest. Unconsciously, I licked my lips.

"Baby, you do that again and I'll never last." He teased, as his hands lowered to his belt. He unfastened it letting it drop to the floor with a thud. I scrambled on the bed, kicking off my boots, socks, pants and shirts. Lester stood still watching me like a hawk. I lay back on the bed in nothing but my bra and panties, it was his turn to lick his lips. I giggled and winked at him. He lost his control and tore his pants off. I was shocked to learn first hand that Lester liked to go commando. I growled low in my throat and gave him my best sultry look. He jumped onto the bed and covered me with himself. He worked open mouth kisses down my throat to the juncture of my neck and shoulder. I gasped as he bit down, the mixture of pleasure and pain was sinfully sweet.

His right hand worked the straps on my bra down, his left slid behind my back. With one quick flick of his wrist, he had unhooked my bra. He grabbed it with his teeth and tore it away, as I giggled. He lowered his head to my right breast, using his tongue to slowly circle the nipple. I closed my eyes, my head lolled back, as I enjoyed the feeling of his tongue on my skin. He switched to the other breast, paying it attention as well. I gripped his hair in my hands, holding him to me, not wanting it to end.

He chuckled and pulled himself free from my grip. "Baby, are you sure? You wanted to go slow."

I groaned and dragged my fingernails over his back gently. "Les, I'm done with going slow. I need you now," I said in a breathy voice, my eyes hooded and dark. He gave me his lopsided grin and I moaned as his lips dropped back to mine. Our tongues dueled, give and take, as his hands wandered south. His thumbs hooked into the waistband of my panties and tugged slightly. I whimpered, wishing that the scrap of fabric was gone. Apparently using his ESP, Les growled deep in his chest and ripped my panties to shreds, tossing the scraps to the side. He positioned himself over me, his knees worked beteween mine. I reached down and grabbed his swollen and hard shaft, he gasped closing his eyes with pleasure. I slid his tip over the entrance of my wet center.

I shivered at the feeling of him against me, wanting him inside, filling me. He raised up onto his elbows, and entered me, only allowing the tip to penetrate. I bucked my hips, trying to force him deeper. He held still, waiting me out, making me wild with desire. "Lessss..." I hissed through my teeth. "Please, I need you. I need all of you." He grinned, looking deep into my eyes.

"Baby, look at me." I opened my eyes, focusing on his face. "I want you to watch me when I make love to you." He whispered, his voice deep and husky. I nodded, unable to speak from the sheer need of his body. He sighed and plunged deep into me, I screamed his name, the feeling of him filling me made me only want more. He was immense in size and I loved the feeling of him in me. He allowed a moment for me to stretch to fit him as he kissed me, effectively cutting off my moans with his mouth. I bucked my hips again, wanting him to move in me.

Lester moaned as we withdrew, my muscles clamped down, attempting to keep him inside me. He hissed and bit me below my ear on the soft and sensitive skin. We set a slow rhythm, our eyes locked onto one another, our moans imtermingled with each other. I could feel myself getting closer to the edge, my breaths more shallow, my head swimming. Lester was nearing the edge as well, his sack had contrated, and his control over his movements became more and more deliberate, desperate to take it slow and meaningful. Lester kissed me deeply, drawing my tongue into his mouth, they played together, touching and sliding. The more he held back his desperation, the deeper his slow and steady thrusts. I felt him bottom out and I lost my fight against holding back the tidal wave of my orgasm. I screamed at the top of my lungs, clawing at Lester's back, my body jerking with the orgasmic spasms. Lester kept his eyes glued to mine, watching me go over the edge was too much for him. He gave an animalistic scream, face contorted, as he shot his seed deep within me. He jerked with every spasm, grunting. We never lost eye contact, and I never felt more connected with someone before.

Panting and still glowing from my orgasm, I raised my head, kissing him deeply. I poured all my heart into that kiss, giving him all that I had. He returned the kiss just as intensely, showing all his feelings for me. I could feel the love, attention and pure emotion from him, pouring into my body. "I love you, Baby." Lester whispered into my ear hoarsely, brushing his lips across my temple. I gripped him tighter to me, we were still locked together, neither of us wanting to break our connection.

"I love you too Les." I brushed a stray lock of his caramel colored hair off of his damp forehead. "I love you too." He gently rolled off of me and pulled me to his side. Resting my head on his chest, I sighed in contentment. I started to giggle lightly, "I can't believe Lester Santos loves me." I wondered to myself aloud.

"Baby, it's hard not to. I was a broken man until I found you. You make me feel whole again." Admitting his feeling for me was a monutmental step for him and I knew it. Merry Men just did not discuss their feelings, let alone fall in love in a matter of hours. I was humbled by his admission and never felt more loved than right then. I snuggled deeper into his chest as he hugged me tightly, never wanting me to leave. We fell asleep together in each other's arms, dreaming of our future together.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The rumbling of my stomach woke me, as I rolled over onto my back, Lester whispered into my ear, "Hi Baby. We slept for quiet a while. Hungry?" I smiled and nodded, as I stretched, arching my back. Lester captured my nipple between his teeth and bit gently. I moaned and felt myself dampen at his touch. "Maybe we can hold off dinner for a while?" He waggled his eyebrows hoping for round two, but my stomach had other ideas. It growled loudly and we both started to laugh.

"We better eat something soon, or else we won't be able to hear each other through the growls of my stomach." He smiled and rose off of the bed, tugging on a pair of basketball shorts, he walked over to the side of the bed. Holding his hand out he helped me to my feet. "Can I borrow your shirt?" I asked as I pulled one of his ARMY shirts over my head. His eyes darkened at the sight.

"Baby, do you know how sexy it is to see you in an ARMY shirt?" He growled, swatting my ass as I walked by. I giggled and raced out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. I dove into the refrigerator and brought out two bottles of water, flipping one to Les, I sank down onto the couch. He drained it in one long stretch, "Ahhhhh." He sat next to me, and pulled me onto his lap. "How does Pino's sound to you?"

"Good, as long as you get extra cheese, extra meat." I leaned back into him sighing. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and dialed the familiar number. After he ordered our pizza, he turned the tv on flipping through the channels. "Oh! Wait! Go back." I said, seeing something that peaked my interest.

An anchorman sitting behind a news desk captured my attention. "A Trenton security company suffered another crushing blow to it's already stretched staff. Tonight, one of their own was shot and seriously wounded in an incident involving a burglury. Cody Stimple with the story." The screen flashed to a man standing in front of St. Francis Hospital holding a microphone. "Today, an unidentified employee of Rangeman Inc. was shot at point blank range when he responded to a silent alarm on the 1000 block of Charming Rd. A company spokesman stated that the security expert responded to a silent alarm that sounded this morning at 11:49 AM at a warehouse owned by DiLina's Construction. The Rangeman employee was shot in the chest by a high calibur weapon, and was taken to St. Francis Hospital in critical condition. The suspect was captured by a joint taskforce comprising of both TPD and Rangeman. Neither TPD or Rangeman are commenting right now, but we can only hope that this poor young man survives this horrific ordeal. This is Cody Stimple for WZBN, Trenton." My jaw hit the floor, tears streaming down my face.

"Les, please tell me this has nothing to do with me." I pleaded wiht him, desperate to know that Chip wasn't shot because of me.

"Baby, I don't know yet. Let me call Ranger and get an update." He got up walked into the bedroom and shut the door. I knew it wasn't going to be good, I had a feeling. A really, really bad feeling. Five minutes later he walked out of the room, looking a pissed. "Baby. Sit down." He asked, guiding me to the couch. "Chip is in stable condition right now. They just transferred him to the ICU. He was hit in the chest three times from a high powered rifle, hollowpoints. They penetrated his vest, the doc's say it slowed the bullets enough to not be immediately fatal. He's going to need another surgery in a day or so, but he'll survive. Chip's a strong guy, he'll make it." I started to cry, I had a feeling about him the day I arrived at Rangeman. Little did I know that the feeling I had wasn't because he creeped me out or anything, it was because I felt he was in danger.

"I feel bad. I should have known that my feeling about him wasn't something he did or was going to do. It was about something that was going to happen to him. I could have saved him." Bawling at this point Les, pulled me into his arms. "Will he be okay?"

"Baby. He's going to be fine. The doctors are amazed already. Even in critical condition he grabbed a nurses ass when she was giving him an IV." He grinned at that. "Ranger did say they got the guy to talk." I stilled at that, staring at him, waiting for him to continue. "As far as we know, it was not related to you or the hit in any way." I sighed and sank my face into his chest.

"Thank god! I can't go to the hospital, can I?" I asked knowing the answer.

"No." He shook his head and leaned back into the couch further. "It's still too dangerous."

"I though as much." I said, pouting. "I want to make sure he's going to be okay for myself."

"Baby, Beautiful is there staying with him. Ranger has two guards watching over him, and Hal is watching Beautiful." I nodded and relaxed. Just then Les recevied a text message from the front desk stating out pizza had arrived. Les threw on a shirt and walked out of the apartment and down the stairs. I continued to watch the news until Les returned. We split the pizza and snuggled together after. I felt myself being carried to the bedroom a while after I fell asleep in his arms. After getting tucked under the covers, Les disrobed and slid into bed with me. He flipped out the lights and we soon found ourselves deep in sleep.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of Les's alarm, he rolled over and slammed his hand down on top, effectively killing it. It sparked and buzzed slightly. Les yanked it from the wall, and threw it into the open closet door. He resumed his previous position, arm slung over my stomach, fingers splayed. I enjoyed the closeness we had, the time to explore each other silently. I smiled and ran my fingers down his face from his forehead down his nose to his lips. He kissed my fingertips, and I replaced my fingers with my lips giving him a wonderful good morning kiss. "Morning, Stud."

Lester raised a single eyebrow, "Stud?"

"Yeah, well I'm trying out different nicknames for you until I can find one that suits you." I frowned, "I guess Stud wasn't the right one, huh?" He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "I'll keep trying."

We dressed and headed down to the gym, ready to tackle the day. I jumped onto the treadmill and started to run. Lester worked his frustrations out with Ram on the mats. I watched them in silent facination. The interaction between them was mesmerizing, the give and take, the powerplay between them and the pure unadulterated show of strength. I began to get an all warm and fuzzy feeling in my body. Oh shit! I was getting turned on watching Les and Ram spar. Well, I guess I shouldn't be overly surprised, they were both really hot guys. But, one of those guys, really loves me. I stumbled and almost fell off the treadmill. I recovered quickly acting as if I meant to to do it and ignored any odd looks.

I had run for over an hour before I started to feel like I needed to cool down and head back to the apartment. After walking to cool down, I waved at Les and headed to the apaptment. I walked out of the elevator on 4, only to come face to face with Binky. "Hi, Binky. Headed to the gym?"

He dragged his eyes over my sweaty body, from my head to my toes, lingering on my chest for a long moment. "Yeah, I got back from the hospital late last night, so I feel like I'm draggin a little this morning." He ran his finger down the outside of my arm, "You free for dinner tonight? I could make Itallian." He offered, a grin plastered on his face.

"Uh, Binky, It's really nice of you to ask, but Lester and I have decided to date each other exclusively. I'm sorry, maybe we could have lunch together sometime. I bet Ranger and Steph would love to join us." I suggested, hoping he would get the not so subtle hints. Geez! What do I have to do? Tazer him? Just then I was saved by Tank. "Tank!" I called out and ran to his side. I looked at Binky, "Let me know later, m'kay?" He nodded looking disappointed.

"Hey, Sassy. Something wrong?" He asked, taking my hands in his, as we walked towards Les's apartment. "Binky giving you trouble?" He asked, his voice hardening.

"Maybe a little. But, he's getting the hint." I paled at the revelation Ranger or Tank would kick Binky's ass if they felt he had crossed the line. "Please, don't reprimand him. He was just trying out his new pick up techniques." I pleaded with him. He stopped us in front of Les's apartment door. I closed my eyes accepting the complete silence.

"Sassy. I promise I will never say a thing to Ranger about it. On a different subject, I would really feel comfortable if you would make a conscious and active role in the searches on Johnson and his associates." I nodded and shifted on my feet, expecting to be reprimanded like a child. The feeling of a finger tipping my chin up, made me reopen my eyes. "We are here to keep you safe." Nothing less than that would be accepted. "Sassy. Chip is going to pull through. As for Johnson, we'll discuss more at the staff meeting later."

Tank patted the top of my head and proceeded to double check that the secured apartment on 4 was clear. I rolled my eyes and allowed him to do what he felt he needed to do. "We better get a move on, meeting in 45 minutes." He walked out, leaving me alone in the apartment.

35 minutes later, I was showered and dressed in my jeans, a purple tank top, my boots and my Glock. Lester had returned and walked out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. As I downed a bottle of water from the fridge, I raised my eyebrows and then gave him my best wolfish grin. "Hubba, hubba!" He grinned and dropped his towel.

"Oops! Did I do that?" He gave me a goofy grin and walked into the bedroom.

"Damn it! You know we can't do anything right now! We have to be in the conference room in 10 minutes!" I shouted at him through the closed door. "You tease!" I huffed and planted myself on the couch, arms and legs crossed. A mere two mintues later Les walked out fully dressed looking completely edible. _Yum!_

"Baby, you're looking at me like I'm breakfast." He snickered, "Not that I don't want to be, but you're right. We better get a move on." He grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the apartment to the stairs. We walked into the conference room with three minutes to spare. I dropped into a chair next to Les and leaned back to stare at the ceiling. I was trying to count the dots in the accoustic tiles when Ranger and Tank strode into the room. I shifted in my seat and gave them my undivided attention.

"Johnson has raised the amount for the hit on Sassy from ten to twenty thousand." I paled and started to feel a little nauseous. I fought against it and pushed back the fear forcing the nausea to subside. "I am meeting Johnson later today at the county lockup. Since he raised the payout on the hit, he has been transferred to the SHU, (Segregated Housing Unit. Essentially, it's solitary confinement.) The guards have been briefed on the situation and have intercepted two kites (notes) that were attempted to be delivered in his meal tray." I watched the guys all frown at the mention of the kites.

Les was notably stoic throughout the meeting, holding my hand shamelessly. He was taking in all the information, mentally taking notes. I watched his blank face as I sat there at his side. He glanced over to me, his eyes dark and foreboding. Tank spoke in his deep voice. "Sassy has agreed to help Bomber with the searches into Johnson's background. Between the two of them, they should come up with something we can use as leverage against him." I smiled and watched the guys all shift their gaze to me. "Sassy, will remain in this building until futher notice. She is not to leave for any reason, unless it has been cleared through either Ranger, Santos or myself." The men nodded, understanding the standing order for me to remain on lock down.

I raised my hand a little getting Tanks attention. "Um... may I say something." He eyed me before both he and Ranger nodded. I turned to the men seated around me, "I just wanted to thank you all for helping me. I know this isn't going to be the easiest of assignments for you all, but I will try to be as compliant as possible with the orders I am given." I slumped back into my seat, feeling much better clearing my conscience.

Ranger stood to his full height, face showing nothing, "Dismissed." I saw the guys file out leaving only Ranger, Steph, Les and I sitting at the table. Les pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me, whispering sweet words to me in spanish. Steph watched us, smiling. "Babe."

She looked up into Ranger's eyes, as he led her from the room. I sighed and relaxed into his chest, absorbing his strength. A quiet ringing sound brought me out of my daze, Les shifted me into the chair by myself as left he the room to speak to whom ever called. A few moments later, I head a comotion and shouting in the hall. I jumped to my feet and ran out of the door. Les was standing over Binky who was splayed out on the floor, unconscious. Les's hand was bloody, the wall behind him had a gaping hole from where his fist had torn right through it. "Stay away from her. She doesn't need you sniffing around while I'm gone."

"GONE?" I nearly shouted. Les froze for a moment before he spun around to see me, fear and regret filled his eyes. I ran out of the hallway and down the stairs, sobbing. I found a small closet off of the main hallway on the third floor near the gym. I squeezed myself into the rear corner, nearly hidden behind boxes and bottles of cleaning products.

After a few mintues, my sobbing was reduced to a few hiccups and sniffles. I heard people coming my direction, and I held my breath. I could hear Bobby's voice, "I know she came onto this floor. Vince said he saw her on the monitors." I heard doors being opened and closed, then the door to my closet was yanked open. I heard someone breathing quietly and the door quickly shut. Mumbles outside of the door were muffled and then all was quiet.

I sighed with relief and relaxed into the small area I had stuffed myself. I was half covered by a sink, and half covered by an overhanging box on a shelf above me. The smell of disinfectant and bleach was strong, I began to read the labels on the bottles and realized this probably wasn't the best place to hide. I scooted out from my hiding spot and stood up on wobbly legs. I edged my way closer to the door, listening for any outside noise. Hearing none I cracked the door open and slid out. A strong hand snaked out and grabbed my arm holding me fast.

"Baby." I hung my head knowing it was Les, even with my eyes closed. "Why did you run?"

"You're leaving." I said quietly.

"Baby. I got called up for a mission. I can't stop it." He chucked my chin up, making my eyes meet his in a steady gaze. "It's my last mission. My contract is up after I get back. I promise." He pulled me into a hug. "Baby, I'm not going anywhere after I get back."

"How long?" I asked, my voice eerily calm, my face blank.

"They say..." He trailed off trying to find the words to tell me it would be a long time.

I frowned and got louder. "How long?" He stammered and tried to find his voice. I finally shouted at him, "How long, Lester?"

"Three weeks to a year." He grew silent and I dropped to my knees, heartbroken. He knelt down next to me, trying to draw me into a hug. "Baby. I'll be back before you know it."

"Les, I just found you and now I'm losing you? I don't know if I can handle this." I stated, exasperated. "What am I going to do? I need you. Johnson will kill me if you're not here." I started to sniffle again, trying to hold back my tears.

"Baby." Les sighed, trying to appease my fears. "No one will let anything happen to you. I promise. As long as you listen to what Ranger and Tank tell you, you'll be safe." I pouted feeling like I was losing my best friend. "Baby. Listen, I have to go. I've been assigned. There's nothing I can do."

"I know. I'm not upset about you having to go. I'm upset that it had to be right in the middle of this fiasco." I mumbled, trying not to seem like a petulant child.

"I don't have to report until tomorrow afternoon. So I can spend the remainder of my time with you. I do have a quick errand I have to run in a few minutes, but when I get back I'm all yours." He pulled me into a strong embrace, nuzzling his face into my hair. I sighed, enjoying the feel of his skin against mine. "I better go. I shouldn't be long." He released me and walked me up the stairs to 5 where Steph was waiting on me. Les gave me a quick kiss, and walked out with Bobby in tow.

Steph held out her arms and I collapsed into them, bawling like a baby. She guided me into Ranger's office and closed the door for privacy. "You love him don't you?" She said quietly as she patted my back gently. I leaned back on the couch resting my head on the cushion, tears still streaming down my cheek. I nodded, and swallowed hard. I could hardly believe myself. I had fallen in love with Les in less time that it took me to choose my couch set. I wondered to myself, was I going to lose him now that I finally found him?

"You're scared you're going to lose him, aren't you?" Steph said after watching my face during my internal musings. "Sometimes, your heart knows even before your brain does." She laid back on the couch matching me. "I used to dread finding out that Ranger had to leave for another mission." She fiddled with her hair as she spoke. "It would tear me up inside and I wasn't sure if I could handle it."

"What did you do?" I asked raising my head off of the couch a little to look at her.

"Prayed really hard, and kept myself busy." She shrugged and turned her head to look at me. "Sassy. You're going to be fine. Les is going to be fine. He is coming back. He always does. Trust him to do his job."

I frowned as I sighed. "I know, it's just I've never had to go through this before. My step-dad had retired from the Air Force before he and my mom got married. And besides he never did anything like this." I drew my knees up to my chest, hugging my arms around them. "I'm scared that someone bent on collecting on the hit will try to kill me when he's gone."

"Sassy. As long as you listen to Ranger, you'll be safe. He'd never put you at risk willingly. He'd risk himself first. You know that, right?" I nodded and moved over to lean my head against her shoulder.

"I'm glad I have you. You're like the sister I always wanted." She patted my leg with her hand.

"I think we better try and get something done before Les gets back." She pulled me to my feet and led me out of Ranger's office. We stopped in front of an empty cubicle next to hers and we got to work. It took me all of 20 minutes to understand the search program and Steph let me loose. We had researched Johnson's history for about an hour when Les came strolling back onto 5 with Bobby.

"Hey, Baby." Les leaned down and kissed the top of my head. "What 'cha doin'?"

"Researching Johnson. I'm not sure if what I found will be of any use." I pointed to the stack of papers I had printed. "We all know that he was a foster kid growing up. I managed to track down the name of his birth mother. It led me to some pretty interesting information."

"How did you manage that?" Steph asked, eyes narrowed.

"Um..." I tried to backtrack, but the look from Les, Steph and Bobby made me spill. "Fine. I hacked the records from New Jersey Child Services."

Les grinned, Bobby snickered, and Steph did her best fish impression, mouth gaping open and closed but no sound coming out. "Who taught you to do that?" Les playfully scolded.

"One of my friends from high school." I answered hoping they wouldn't want details. "Anyway, I checked and found out that Johnson's mother, Juanetta Johnson, was arrested in the 70's for being a mule for the Espero Cartel. Johnson was 3 months old at the time and was taken, she signed over her rights to him. She turned states evidence against the cartel and ended up in the witness protection program. All traces of a Juanetta Johnson disappear after that." I mentally checked myself and quietly added, "I may have picked up her trail after that."

"How?" Steph asked, perched on the edge of her chair. Bobby watched me warily, unsure if her really wanted to know how I found this info. Les was beaming, excited I had found so much in a small amount of time.

"I kinda hacked the feds." I cringed waiting for someone to freak out.

"YOU WHAT?!" Bobby screamed, garnering the attention of all the other guys on 5. The men poked their heads out of doors and prairie dogged out of their cubicles. I blushed bright red and slunk down in my seat even further.

"Bobby!" I hissed, "Shut up. You're going to get me into trouble."

"Oh, I think you managed to do that all by yourself just fine." He admonished, before Les wrapped an arm over my shoulders. "They're going to cart you away and us with you! That's after Ranger kills us first." He groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

Ignoring Bobby's outburst, Les asked, "What did you find, Baby?"

"I know that Juanetta Johnson is now Gloria Brown. She was originally placed by the feds in Sacramento, California. She is now married, mother of three grown children, works as a receptionist for a lawyer and now lives in Fairfield."

Les sucked in a breath, "Holy shit! Bobby what was the homeowner's name of the house we found Johnson at?"

Bobby frowned as he thought back on the case. His eyes almost popped out of his head, when he spoke. "Brown. Gloria Brown." I smiled and winked at Steph. We had previously unknown information on Johnson. I just hoped Ranger could use it to our advantage.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Lester called a quick meeting with Ranger and Tank, meeting in Ranger's office. I squeezed onto the couch with Les and Bobby, as Tank stood. Steph had scooted herself onto the top of Ranger's desk, while Ranger had occupied his plush leather executive chair. Les was beaming, proud of what both Steph and I had found. I sat back and tried to stay as engaged in the converstion as possible, while Les and Steph explained what had been found. Both Ranger and Tank glared at me when they asked where I had come upon the info. I gave a weak smile and tried to sink back in the couch.

"Sassy." Ranger said, getting my attention. "Can it be traced back here to Rangeman?"

I shook my head. "No. I bounced my signal so many times, I don't think I could even find it, if I looked."

"Where did you learn to do that?" Tank asked, impressed.

"A friend from high school taught me." I said hoping they'd drop it too.

But the look from Ranger dashed all those hopes. "Sassy. Who?" My shoulders slumped.

"One of my best friends, Greg Trinker. He used to go by the hacker name of Porky." Tank sported a wide smile, and whipped out his phone. He stepped out of the office for a moment before he returned.

"Teleconference, Conference room A, in 10." He turned and walked away, leaving us looking a little confused. Les stood up and held his hand out.

"Let's grab a sandwich from the fridge and go back to the conference room." He led me into the break room, the other guys were giving us a wide berth. I eyed Les and noticed he was acting a little smug.

"Les, why are the guys avoiding us?" I asked as I grabbed a tuna on whole wheat and a bottle of water.

Bobby chuckled from behind us. "Could be due to the fact he punched out Binky earlier." I frowned and shook my head.

"What did he say, Les?" I asked, trying to understand why he had behaved do voilently.

"He said that he'd keep your bed warm while I was gone. So I punched the fucker." He said unappologeticlly. He stared me down as I tried to give him my best glare.

"You know, I'd never do anything like that. I don't do mulitple partners. Les," I turned him to face me, pulling his face down to mine. "I love you. Nothing is going to change that. I don't care what Binky said, I'm yours and only yours." He grinned and kissed the tip of my nose.

"I know. I just wanted him to understand he can't disrespect my woman like that. Besides, I heard what he said to you in the hallway this morning." I turned to flash a look of anger at Tank who walked by.

"TANK!" I yelled, "You said you weren't going to tell." I huffed out crossing my arms over my chest.

He gave me his blank look and then said, "You only said not to tell Ranger and Santos, not Brown." He turned and walked into the conference room. I turned and looked at Bobby.

"You told Les?" I said pissed.

"I'm his partner, I tell him everything." He said shrugging. I glared at him, too. "Now you know not to tell me anything you don't want Les to find out." He walked away and sat at a seat across the table from where we had settled with our impromptu snack. Les watched me quietly.

"I'm sorry, Les. I didn't want to worry you, and I didn't want to get Binky into trouble." I hung my head.

"Baby. I want you to be able to tell me anything. I don't care if you think I'm going to spazz out about it. I want to know. Same goes for me. I'll tell you what I can about whatever I can. I promise." He gripped my hand in his gently, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.

"I promise, too." I leaned forward and planted a kiss in the middle of his forehead.

Just then Ranger walked in and Tank hit his fob, dropping the painting behind Ranger's head revealing a huge tv screen. I almost laughed outloud when I saw who we were tleconferencing with. "GREG!"

"Steph!" I watched my childhood friend smile at me and wave. I waved back. "What the hell are you doing in Trenton?"

Ranger cut in, "Sassy witnessed us on a takedown of a skip in Vacaville. He was embarassed and is taking his anger out on her. He'd placed a hit out on her for twenty grand."

"So how did she get to Trenton?" Greg asked a little miffed his question wasn't getting answered.

"I came back with the guys on the jet. Les and the guys are taking good care of me." I answered trying to appease him. We grew up like brother and sister, with him being very protective of me. It wasn't until he moved away that our connection was temporarily severed.

"Les? As in Lester Santos?" His face hardened, "Please tell me you didn't get mixed up with him?"

Lester stood up and into the line of sight of the camera. "Yes, Lester Santos." I watched Greg's face go blank. "You have a problem with me?"

"Santos."

"Flash." Les ground out, none too pleased.

"Wait! You two know each other?" I asked, confused. "How?"

"Sassy. I work for Rangeman Boston." Greg answered, still glaring at Les.

"Boston? Rangeman? Since when?"

"Last year. I'm their computer tech here." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I couldn't. Confidentiality agreement." I turned to look at Ranger, he shrugged ever so slightly and gave me his blank face.

"Fine. I can understand that. But Greg, when did you get the name Flash?"

He sighed and smiled, "The guys here started to call me that after I fixed the system quickly. Said I was like the Flash, and it stuck."

"What happened to Porky?" I giggled.

He rolled his eyes and snickered. "Yeah, never did let that one out of the bag." Tank frowned, a little miffed he had missed that little tid bit of information. "So, what is this all about?" He asked noticing that the guys around the table were starting to get a little bored.

"Sassy, mentioned you taught her a little about hacking." Tank said in a flat tone.

"Shit! Sassy, did you hack the feds again?"

"AGAIN?" Bobby shouted at me.

"Sorry, Bobby. I did it once before. I never got caught, but Greg made me promise not to do it unless it was an emergency."

Greg smiled, "She's a natural if I ever saw one. Got the face of an angel and the brains of a rocket scientist." He teased, clearly starting to relax.

"We need you to come to Trenton for a few days, help us in additional searches." Ranger said in a steely tone. "Be here by 0700."

"Yes, Sir." Greg answered in his best subordinate voice.

Tank made a sign telling me my time was up. "I'll see you tomorrow Greg."

"Bye, Sassy." His line of sight moved to Ranger. "Sir." Then the transmission was severed, leaving the screen black.

I was excited Greg was coming to Trenton, but torn because Les was leaving. "Les, can we go back to the apartment? I think I need to lay down."

Ranger nodded at Les and we made our way out of the room and down the stairs. He opened the door to his apartment and we crashed on the couch. I was laying in his lap, Les rubbing circles on my back with his hands, when I finally spoke. "You and Greg have had problems before?"

"Not exactly." He sighed. "We had a difference of opinion right after he started working at for Ranger. I happened to disagree with him." He stopped rubbing my back, so I rolled over and watched him as he continued speaking. "Don't get me wrong, I trust him to have my back, but as for thinking along the same lines... not so much."

"Let me guess, it was about how you do your searches." I said, knowing Greg was very meticulous. "He didn't think you all went far enough into the background, huh?"

"Yeah." He grinned.

"I know. He always was kinda anal."

"Yeah, that's a good way of putting it." He laughed, and changed the subject. "You ready to spend the rest of our time together?" He kissed the top of my head, his lips lingering.

"Yeah. I don't want to let you leave without knowing just how I feel." I wriggled in his lap, feeling his growing erection poking me in the back. "I think I need a shower." I got up and sauntered towards the bathroom. I stopped and turned to Les. My voice husky, "Aren't you going to join me?" I don't think I've ever seen a man move so fast in my life. He had me up and over his shoulders in no time flat, headed into the bathroom.

Setting me onto my feet he drew me into a kiss that made me breathless. My head swam, my thought solely on Lester. I wound my hands into his hair, holding his head to mine, as our lips caressed each other. His tongue snaked out running along by bottom lip, seeking entrance. Moaning, I parted my lips enough for his to touch mine. They dueled, sliding around and across each other, heightening my already enhanced senses. His hands roved my back soothing me, my hands worked their way under his shirt. He shuddered as I dragged my fingernails across his shoulderblades, moaning deeply in his chest. My panties were oficially wet at this point, and I saw no other way of having him, but to strip him naked.

Kicking off my boots and socks, I tugged my shirt off over my head, placing my Glock on the counter. I unbuckled my belt, and unbuttoned my pants and let them fall to the floor. Les growled, took off his boots and socks and shrugged out of his shirt and pants. I wrapped my arms around his waist, matched my body contours to his and licked the skin of his neck where it met his shoulder, biting down, marking him. He shuddered and let out a ragged breath, clearly enjoying the pain. I threw my head back when he returned the favor, I moaned when his teeth sank into the sensitive flesh of my neck. He reached over and turned the water on, kissing me senseless while we waited for the water to come to temperature. He hooked his fingers into the straps for my bra and slid them off my shoulders, kissing where they once laid on my skin. Using a quick snapping motion of his fingers, Les had my bra unhooked, and on the floor in a matter of moments. His hot mouth found my nipples, working them into hard little nubs with his tongue and teeth, nibbling and sucking them.

Losing his control, Les wrapped his hand into my cute lacy thong and ripped it right off of me. I gasped at the display of wanton lust, and giggled knowing what lay ahead. He moved us into the shower and under the spray of the water. I wrapped a leg around his, rubbing my hot core against his thigh, my lips drawing him into a battle of our tongues once more. He traced his tongue from my collarbone up my neck to my ear, running it around the shell of my ear. I whimpered and felt myself start to drip between my legs from the sheer need for him. "Les, please."

He laughed huskily, "Tell me what you want, Baby. Tell me." He breathed into my ear, making me shudder.

"I want... I want you." I whispered into his ear. "I want you to make me yours."

He dragged his lips across my chin and up to my temple, stopping nest to my ear. "I want you to watch me when we make love. I want to watch your beautiful brown eyes when you cum."

He placed his hands on my hips and lifted me up, my back against the cool wall of tile. Stilling himself for a moment, we locked eyes, sharing our love for each other without words. He plunged into me, I screamed his name, he held still for a few seconds to allow me to stretch to fit his massive size. I clawed at his back desperate for him to plunge again, fill me again, to make me his again. He pulled back and then thrust deeper. It proved to be too much and I screamed his name once again as I came around him. He groaned with the feeling of me contracting around him, drawing him deeper. He waited for my rhythmic movements to ease before he found a rhythm of his own, pressing me against the cold tile as he thrust time and time again. I was frantic with need, I kissed him for all I was worth, consciously contracting my pelvic muscles trying to keep him deep within me.

He pulled out and I cried from the loss of contact with him. Les spun me around, bent me over at the waist and entered me from behind. From this position, he could reach deeper and it felt so damn good. He grabbed my hair, using it to hold onto me with one hand and placed a second on my shoulder. He started to lose his control and began to pound into me hard and fast, I laughed loving the display of power from him. "Les, fuck me!" At that he let lose of all his control. I placed my hands on the tile wall to keep from being pushed over as he pounded into me with all he had. I felt my muscles contract ready for another orgasm, when it hit me full force. I screamed at the top of my lungs, my inner muscles clenched him before I started to milk him. He gave one last hard thrust, pushing me into the wall, before he lost his battle and came in me. His hot seed spilled into me. He shuddered, and bit me on my shoulder hard, marking me as his. He jerked a few more times, as he finished spilling in me. After turning around, I kissed him slowly, drawing out the pleasure we both were still basking in.

Both our legs gave out and we crumpled to the floor of the shower, the water running over us in rivulets. We sat there gasping for breath for almost 5 minutes before he helped me to my feet and stood next to me, his lips caressing the shell of my ear. "Baby, I love you." He whispered, as he pulled me into a hug.

I smiled lazily and returned the sentiment, "I love you too Les."

We washed each other, taking the feeling of each other's skin and body. He washed and conditioned my hair, using his fingers to comb through the tresses, untangling it. He held my hair under the water, rinsed it and allowed me to wash his hair for him in return. We finished rinsing and he shut off the water. I wrapped an oversized bath towel around me watching his wrap one around his waist. I licked my lips thinking of what lay beneath the towel, he caught my gaze and chuckled. "Baby. You ready again?" I nodded and raced him into the bedroom.

We made love that night, over and over again until the first light of dawn blushed the sky pink. We fell into a deep sleep in each other's arms, fully sated and completely in love.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

We finally awoke around 10 AM, when Les's phone rang. "Yo." I opened one eye to watch him rub his face with his free hand, he was still very sleepy. "Got it." He hung up and tossed the phone onto the floor. I rolled over onto my stomach and watched him rub both his hands over his face and then his hair.

"Morning." I smiled and kissed the tip of his chin.

Pulling me into a warm snuggly hug, me nuzzled my neck, "Morning, Baby." He sighed heavily and smiled. He noticed the look I gave the phone on the floor before it returned to his face. "That was Tank. He's taking me to the airport in less than two hours. My flight leaves at 1415 from Newark." I frowned and flopped over. "Baby. Will you stay with me until I leave?"

"Of course Lester. Why would I leave?" I asked, unsure of why he was asking me to stay. I was under the impression I would stay with him, anyway.

"I was afraid you'd want to give me some space before I left." He admitted, looking at the ceiling.

"Les. Look at me." I drew his face to the side to look me in the eyes. "I'm not leaving you. Get over it." I smiled and snuggled into his chest. He sighed and rubbed lazy circles on my back with his fingertips.

"Baby."

"Hmm?"

"I want you to stay here in my apartment when I'm gone. I want you to stay here." He said quietly, still tracing pattern onto my back.

"Really?" I propped myself on my elbow to look down into his face. It looked almost sad and hollow. It scared me, watching him change in front of me like this. "Les. I don't know what to say." I fumbled a little, before recovering. "I'll stay. If you want me here, then I'll stay. For you." He hugged me and kissed the top of my head gently. I sat up and walked over to his dresser, pulled out a clean ARMY t-shirt and pulled it over my head. "Are you hungry?" His stomach growled at the thought of food, I laughed trying to keep up a brave face for him. "Get dressed, I'll make us something to eat." I walked out of the room leaving him to dress.

I heard a faint ringing coming from the bedroom, and thought nothing of it, until Les walked out talking on my cell phone. Dressed in basketball shorts and a tanktop, I turned to watch him. "Yes, ." He rolled his eyes. I giggled, knowing that he had walked into a hornets nest by answering my mother's call. "Yes, Ma'am, she's safe. I promise." He sat on the couch, and I knelt at his feet. "My name is Lester Santos, Ma'am. I work for a security company in Trenton, New Jersey." I fidled with the hem of his shorts as he spoke. "Yes, Ma'am. She's in Trenton. Sassy will be here for a while longer, and no I'm not sure for how long. There's extenuating circumstances." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "She'll have to explain it to you, Ma'am. Yes, Ma'am. She's right here, just a moment." He pulled the phone away from his ear and handed me the phone, his finger over the receiver. "She's asking a lot of questions, please only give her a minimum amount of information." He kissed my lips lightly before he removed his finger off of the receiver.

I held the phone up to my ear and spoke, "Mom?"

"What the hell is going on?" She shouted into the phone. I cringed and sighed knowing the full interrogation was about to begin. I swallowed hard and put the phone on speaker.

"I'm in Trenton."

"I know that! That young man told me. Why are you there?" She asked, the irritation was clear in her voice.

"Mom, I can't tell you exactly what happened, but it has to do with me staying safe for right now."

"Oh, my god! Did Brian try to hurt you again?" Worry tainted her question.

"No, Mom. It wasn't Brian. I witnessed something and because of it, I have to be under guard until the threat passes."

"Is someone trying to hurt you?"

"Mom. Stop. Look, someone is trying to hurt me. Les and the guys are keeping me safe. Please leave it at that for right now. I can't tell you any more than that now, but I'll tell you the whole story when I can. I promise."

I could hear her pacing as she listened to me talk. It worried me, she only paced when she knew something was horribly wrong. "Are you there of your own free will?"

"Mom, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now." I looked at Les and smiled, my eyes shining.

Then out of left field the question I had hoped she wouldn't ask popped up. "Are you sleeping with this Lester character?"

I rolled my eyes groaning, but felt I could not lie to her. "Yes. I love him."

"Love him? How long have you known him?"

Not exactly lying, I told her, "I've known him for years, Mom. We love each other Mom."

"But he lives in New Jersey. How did you meet him?" She probed deeper.

Sighing I looked at Lester for help. He sat back and smiled, "Ma'am, Sassy put you on speaker phone. We met a while back, she knew about me before I knew about her. But once we met, it was love at first sight."

"Did you break a relationship to be with her?" My mom asked, being nosey.

"I've been out of any type of relationship for the last three years, and we decided together that it was the right time for us. I love her and plan on being there for her for the rest of my life." He smiled at me and winked. "I am finishing a goverment contract and should be finished with it in the next few months. I plan on returning and building a life with her." He grinned at me and I nearly swooned.

"This is all a little sudden don't you think? What do you parents say?" She asked, a little miffed.

"That don't know yet, Ma'am. I had planned on bringing them here to meet her but since I will be out of the country for a while, we can put it off for now."

"Take good care of my daughter, . I expect her to return to me in one piece." My mother warned, as I rolled my eyes. "Sassy, don't you dare roll your eyes at me. I know when you do that, the hairs on the back of my neck go up." I stopped and slapped a hand over my mouth to prevent my laughter from escaping.

"I plan on it, Ma'am. We better cut this short, I have to pack. It was nice to meet you, . I hope to meet you face to face as soon as I return."

"I'd like that, . May I speak with my daughter in private?"

"Sure." He switched the phone back to normal and handed it to me. He whispered into my ear, "I love you, Baby." He kissed my forehead and walked into the bedroom to give me privacy.

"Mom? What is it? I have to help Les pack."

"Is he good to you?"

"Of course he is. I wouldn't be here if he wasn't." I answered as truthfully as I could. She could tell I was on the level with her about it and dropped that subject.

"So what does he look like?"

I blushed just thinking about him, "He's 6'5" tall, tanned, caramel colored hair, green eyes, killer smile, muscles you can drool for days about and he's H-O-T, HOT!"

She chuckled, "Nice, and by the last name of Santos, I'm guessing he's hispanic?"

"Mom!"

"What?"

"It doesn't matter what his last name is. It could be Mud for all I care. I love him. And for your information, he's cuban." I huffed out, pissed she was being so petty.

"I know Honey. I wasn't trying to be rude, I was just asking." She paused, sighed and added, "Well, I better let you go. Your dad decided to buy a new bookcase and is trying to put it together without me." I could hear cursing in the background. "Sassy, I better go. He just hit himself with the hammer. I love you Honey."

"I love you too, Mom. I'll call you later."

"Okay, Sweety. Bye."

"Bye." I snapped the phone shut and gave a mock scream, closing my eyes and flopping onto the couch face first. Lester strolled out and chuckled.

"Come on, it can't be that bad." He said, pulling out a bottle of juice from the fridge. He popped the top and drank straight from the bottle. He handed it to me after he had his fill and sat in the recliner next to the couch. I took a swig from the juice and sighed.

"You have no idea. She's probably planning on talking about life stuff."

"Life stuff?" He asked, his head cocked to the side slightly.

"You know... life, love, marriage, kids, the works." I groaned and took another swig of the juice.

He countered with, "Would that be so bad? Having a life with me?" I choked on the juice, and sputtered as he hit me lightly on the back.

"Having a life with you? I never thought that far in advance." I admitted, feeling a little sheepish.

"Would you think about it? Do you want to have a life with me?" He asked slipping to his knees in front of me. I rested my forehead against his and closed my eyes.

"Les, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I want to make a life with you. I want us to have a life together."

"And, what if I told you I wanted kids. Lots of kids." He asked hesitantly.

"Then I guess, you better get used to a pregnant me walking around." I laughed. "Does this mean you want to marry me?"

"Baby. I want to propose to you the right way, so I'm not going to do it right now. But yes, I want to marry you. I can't live without you." He kissed me deeply, pouring all his love and emotion into the kiss. We pulled apart, felling as if we had been drugged, giddy with love. "You are my life, my love. The love of my life."

"I love you Lester Santos."

"I love you Stephanie Wilson." We held each other for what seemed like a lifetime, before he rose to his feet. "I better get packed, Tank is meeting me in the garage in 30." We walked to the bedroom and I watched him pack his gear. After rolling and tucking his clothes into his duffle, he opened the safe in his closet. I was shocked to see a small arsenal sitting in it. He emptied the contents into his bag picked up a small wooden box and sat on the bed next to me. Opening the top he pulled out two sets of his dogtags, he draped one set around my neck. The metal was cool against the skin between my breasts, the sound of the tags hitting each other broke the silence.

"Les, your dog tags?" Looking at them, I touched them with my fingertips, tears forming in my eyes.

He nudged my head up, to look into his eyes. "Baby. Wear these until I get back." He pleaded with me, his eyes searching mine.

I nodded and a lone tear rolled down my cheek. "I promise." He kissed the tear away and rose off of the bed. He slipped out of his shorts and tanktop and into his ARMY issue BDU, in the latest desert cammo pattern. He slipped his second set of tags over his head and turned to look at me. I never realized how handsome he was until that moment. I was in total awe of him, dressed to kill (literally) in his fatigues and boots. He threw the duffle over his shoulder, I grabbed his bulletproof vest, jacket and helmet and followed him to the door. I had tugged on a pair of shorts, my tennis shoes and pulled my hair into a ponytail while he had packed. He turned around once to look at the apartment before we walked together to the garage.

Tank was leaning against the black SUV waiting on us, he smiled at me and nodded at Les. "Better make it quick, there's bad traffic."

I turned to Les, as he pulled me into his arms. We stood there like that far a few mintues, silent and still. He pulled back slightly looked deep into my eyes, "I love you Sassy." He lowered his lips to mine in the sweetest kiss I had ever known. We reluctantly pulled apart, our lips the last to touch. He winked at me and gave me his trademark lopsided grin, "When I get home, we'll talk more about life stuff." I smiled, trying to be brave, trying not to cry.

"Life stuff." I gave him a wink and finished by saying, "I love you Lester. Be safe. Come home." I backed away from the SUV, allowed him to get in and nodded to Tank who pulled out of the garage.

When they had pulled completely out of sight I collapsed onto the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. I felt strong arms lifting me, looked around through tear filled eyes to see all of Rangeman surrounding me as Bobby carried back into the building.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Steph helped me settle into the bed in Les's apartment, both Ranger and Bobby stood by the bedside watching me fall apart. Steph held my hand as I doubled over in total agony. Ranger looked as if he was at a total loss as to what to do. Steph whispered to them, "Just wait out on the couch." They walked out of the room and closed the door behind them. She laid down on the bed with me taking me into her arms, soothing me. After I cried my eyes out for over and hour, my tears dried up and I lay there hiccuping, taking back control of my body.

"Steph, was it this hard for you?" I asked, sniffling.

"Yeah. At least you have someone who understands, I didn't have anyone." She admitted as she stroked my hand with hers.

"Thank you." I kissed her cheek. "You mean a lot to me."

"Thanks. You're the sister I always wanted. Valerie was always such a goodie goodie." She smiled and I giggled. We heard the door open and Bobby stuck his head in.

"Are you alright, Sassy?" He was genuinely concerned.

I sighed and tried to straighten my hair, "Yeah. I'm done crying. I just feel stupid, now." I admitted, pulling my hair out of it's ponytail leaving it long.

He sat on the bed next to me, trying to find the right words. "I know I'm not Les, but I hope you can feel like you can talk to me while he's gone." I looked at him as if he had grown a second head. He smiled, "I know what I said earlier about not expecting me not to squeal to Les about what you said, but I promise, not to tell anyone but him what you say. You're his girl, so in a weird roundabout way, that makes you my partner too." He bumped his shoulder against mine, "You know he asked me to watch out for you."

"He did?" I looked at him, his eyes were glued to the floor.

"Yeah. So, Ranger asked me to partner up with both you and Steph. Not that we're planning on leaving the building anytime soon, but it's nice to know someone's got your back."

"Yeah." I sat there for a few minutes thinking about what he had said when I realized that Greg arrived earlier this morning. "Did Flash get here?" I asked hoping to bridge the silence that had permeated the room.

"Yeah, he wants to see you. Can I bring him in?" I shook my head.

"No. I'll go out there. I'm done crying and I want to try and make things normal for me. Hiding out isn't going to make anything easier on me." I got up, brushed my hair and took a deep breath before stepping out into the living room. The room was filled with around fifteen people, all waiting on me. I hesitantly held my hand up, "Hi. Sorry about losing it there. I'm better now." I walked over to the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, downing it in one long drawn out gulp. I screwed the top back on, threw the bottle in the recycle bin and turned around to face Steph and the guys. "Where's Greg?"

He stepped out from the back of the pack and wrapped me in his arms. "It's been too long. Are you alright, Honey?" He asked, his hands on the sides of my face, he ran his thumbs over my cheeks. I buried my face into his chest and tried to forget the outside world. It had been a long time since Greg had held me like this and I wasn't ready to give it up just yet.

I hugged him tightly, "Yeah. It's just so good to see you. As you probably know, I've had a lot going on." I smiled weakly, trying to make light of the subject.

"Honey. Come on, sit down, you look tired." He led me to the couch, two men vacated spots and allowed us to sit. Greg still had his arm over my shoulders, and I leaned into him for strength. "So, you and Santos, huh?" He teased, poking me in the side with his finger.

"Prick." I said, punching him in the arm. "Yeah, Les and I are together." I eyed him suspiciously, "You got a girl?"

"Naw. Too busy working." He said a little deflated.

"I know that Suzette Crier is single again." He perked up a little, his eyes began to shine. "She asked me a few weeks ago if I had seen you. I can give you her number."

"Sounds good." He smiled and looked to Ranger. "I think she's as close to normal as she's going to get, for right now."

Ranger knelt down in front of me. "Sassy. I need to talk to you." He motioned around the room at the men surrounding us. "We need to talk to you." I nodded and settled into the couch further. He stood and backed off a few steps before he spoke. "I'd like to hire you to work here at Rangeman. You managed to find information on Johnson in the matter of an hour, what none of us could find in three weeks. Your intuition is incredible and on par with my Babe." He gave me a 200-watt smile. "You wouldn't be able to go and do any job related activities outside the building yet, I'd like for you to take shifts on monitors and learn the security aspect of this business. You'd make a wonderful team with my Babe." I was speechless, Ranger asked me to work for him. He was offering me a job!

"But what will Les say?" I asked, a little unsure.

"I talked to him before he left, he's okay with it." He answered, his face showing little. "So, will you consider it?"

"Yes. I'll take the job. I just need a few concessions." I said watching him. Knowing I was a shrewd negotiator, Greg snickered. Ranger shot him a glance and silenced him immediately.

"What are your demands?" Ranger asked, eyes narrowed, face blank.

"I want an updated computer system that Greg has worked over. I need my own cubicle, and I want to be notified the second anyone receives word about Les." Ranger nodded.

"Done." He turned to Greg. "Get what you need, and have it up and running within two days." Greg nodded and Ranger nodded back.

Bobby stepped up to speak. "Sassy. We have all heard about your attack, and some of us have seen the scars. We'd like to teach you self defense. If you'll let us." I looked around the room, every one of the men standing there were dead serious about helping me feel safe.

I smiled wide, "Self defense?" Greg looked a little pissed he had been left out of the loop on this one. I turned to him, "Greg. You remember Brian right? The guy I was dating the last time I saw you?" He nodded, starting to frown. "Well, I caught him cheating on me with Tori Lindy." Greg growled and his face changed. "So, I smashed our truck with Jarret Wave's backhoe. Brian got pissed and came over to my house. He beat the hell out of me and shot me in both legs before I could hit him over his head with a brick. He was arrested and served seven months and is still on probation."

Greg jumped up and started to pace. "That fucker is as good as dead! What the fuck? He's so lucky I wasn't there. I would have shot him right in the head." He then dropped to his knees in front of me laying his head in my lap. "I'm sorry Sassy. I'm so sorry." He buried his head in my lap.

"Greg, what do you have to be sorry about?"

"I wasn't there to stop him." I kissed the top of his head, and dropped my head on top of his.

I whispered so only he could hear me, "You couldn't have stopped him. I couldn't have stopped him. It's okay. I'm still in one piece." He stood and shook his head.

"You have scars. Show me." He ordered, I hung my head. "Sassy! Don't you shut me out. Show me damn it!" He was royally pissed now. I stood and tugged the shirt over my head, standing there in nothing but my bra and shorts. He sucked in a sharp breath, appalled at the sight before him. That was until I rolled up the legs of the shorts to reveal the bullet wounds. He cursed himself and punched the wall behind him, before he walked out of the room. I tugged the shirt back over my head and flopped onto the sofa. The guys around me who hadn't seen the scars before cetainly did then. And a soft murmur carried around the room.

Ram walked up to me and knelt down to my level. "Sassy, I can help you with accuracy on the range with your Glock. Set up a time with Ranger and I'll be there for you." He stood, patted the top of my head and walked out of the room to follow Greg.

Each man slowly, one at a time, approached and offered to teach me some type of self defense or offer to hone a skill I already had. By the time it was only Bobby, Ranger, Steph and I in the room, I was almost in tears again. "I can't belive you guys would want to help me. I mean I'm already taking up a lot of your time as it is. Why do you want to keep helping me?" I asked, confused by the show of attention.

"Sassy. We take care of our own. You're Les's girl. Besides that, you're now part of Rangeman. We can see the person you once were, and feel we can help you get back to her again." Steph said, sitting next to me, arm around my back. She smiled and lowered her voice so only I could hear her, "We want to help you learn how to fly." I smiled and hugged her fiercely.

"Thank you Steph. Thanks."

"Come join us for dinner." Ranger said, hoping I'd agree. "Ella is making Arroz con Pollo and flan." It was temping, but I felt like I needed to be alone tonight.

"I'm sorry. But I''d like to be alone tonight for a while. If you don't mind." He nodded and left the room.

Steph leaned over to me and whispered into my ear, "Spray some of his cologne onto his pillow tonight before you go to bed. It will help you sleep." She rose to leave, but stopped to place a kiss on the top of my head. She ushered Bobby out of the room with her and I dialed Ella.

"Yes, Stephanie. What can I do for you?" Ella said sweetly.

"Can I get something for dinner? I don't want to deal with the guys hovering tonight."

"Would you like something sweet for dessert?"

"Got anything chocolate?"

"Always. I'll be up shortly."

"Thanks Ella. You're the best." I replied in a tired voice.

"It's nothing my dear. I'll be down there in 30."

"Thanks Ella." I hung up and laid down on the couch hugging a cushion to my chest. Before I knew it I had fallen fast asleep.

Dreaming about Lester had me tied up in knots. The nightmare was almost too much for me to handle. Gentle hands soothed me out of my terror filled dream, and I opened my eyes to see Ella sitting with my head in her lap stoking my hair. Choking down my tears, I turned my face into her lap, as I tried to compose myself. "Dear, are you alright?" Concern filled her eyes.

My sigh filled the quiet room, "Ella, I'm sorry. I must have fallen asleep."

"It's alright dear. I brought you dinner and dessert. I'll be by in the morning to pick up the dishes." She rose to her feet, patted my shoulder and walked out of the apartment. I sat there enjoying the quiet, then proceeded to eat my dinner in silence. After eating, I cleared my dishes and headed up to the control room on 5.

Cal and Hal were on monitor duty, sitting staring at the huge bank of monitors along the wall. Walking in, I leaned against the desk along the back wall, "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Sassy. Feeling better?" Hal asked over his shoulder, his eyes never leaving the monitors.

"A little. Hey, do either one of you know where Flash is?"

Cal turned from the screens in front of him to look at me. "Apartment 4F." He studied me closely, "I didn't know you knew him."

"Yeah, he was my best friend in high school. We kinda lost touch after he moved away. I had no idea he was working for the Boston office." I picked up a stapler, examining it closely. "We were inseperable." I smiled thinking back on the good times we had shared. "The stories I could tell you about him..." I gave Cal an evil smile.

"Remind me never to piss you off." I giggled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thanks Cal." I scooted over to Hal and dropped a peck onto his cheek as well. He blushed a deep red, "Thanks Hal. You guys rock." I turned on my heels and strode out of the control room and down the stairs to 4 again. Finding 4F, I knocked hoping he was still in. Sorely disappointed, no one answered.

Wolf stuck his head out of 4E, "Hey Sassy. Flash and Bobby went out for beers a little while ago. Should be back soon. Want me to let him know you stopped by?" He asked, trying to be civil.

"Meh. I'll catch him later. Thanks." I called over my shoulder as I walked back to Les's apartment. Opening the door and walking into the kitchen, I noticed an envelope taped to the fridge, I hadn't seen before. I pulled it off and sat on the couch. Tucking my legs under me, I sat back into the couch and examined the envelope. It was a standard manilla envelope with Stephanie Wilson scrawled across the front in Lester's handwriting. I swallowed hard and blinked back tears. I turned it over and opened the flap, pulling the contents out onto my lap. A thick stack of papers fell into my lap and I picked it up to read the first page, I spoke as I read. "Last Will and Testament of Lester Santos."

I grew nauseaus and forced myself to push back any negative feelings. Flipping the page, I read the hand written document. "I Lester Santos, being of sound body and mind, do bequeath my posessions to the following: To my sister, Maria Santos, I leave $20,000.00, my 1969 Mustang and my photo albums; to my mother and father, Marita and Jose Santos, I leave $50,000.00 and the contents of my safe; to my cousin, Ricardo Carlos Manoso, I leave my military medals and the contents of my storage locker; and finally to the love of my life, Stephanie Wilson, I leave the remainder of my estate: all my shares of Rangeman Inc. in the amount of 1/5th ownership, my dogtags, my apartment at Rangeman Trenton, the remaining contents of my bank account in the amount of $743,652.21, and, finally the ring I have given to Ricardo Carlos Manoso for safe keeping.

At this point I had tears streaming down my face, my sobs went unchecked and I felt as if I was going to pass out. I dropped the packet of legal documents that were attatched to the handwritten will. A single paper dislodged itself from the bottom of the stack and fell at my feet. I picked it up and saw more of Les's handwriting. It was a letter written to me.

Baby,

I never was one for words, so I'll keep this short. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. I will try to send you messages as often as I can while I am gone. Don't worry about me, I will be fine. Stay strong and I will be home before you know it. Love Lester.

The page fell from my hands as I collapsed onto the couch, sobbing my eyes out. It was only when a warm hand found it's way to my shoulder, I noticed that both Bobby and Greg had made entry into the apartment. Greg sat on the couch pulled me into his lap and gathered me into his arms. I wept openly and buried my face into his chest. Bobby sat next to us and rubbed my back helping to soothe me. I finally cried myself out and just sat there in Greg's lap, listening to his heart beating. "Stephanie. I'm sorry for being an ass. I shouldn't have walked out like that." He whispered into my ear. "I love you and it hurts me to think someone could do something like that to you."

My face remained unchanged, as I listened to his words. "And now you're together with Santos, it's just a shock." He sighed, "We haven't seen each other in 4 years, and I feel like it's been a lifetime. I don't want you to get hurt anymore and I've asked Ranger for a transfer here to Trenton." I looked up at him and gave him a weak smile.

"Are you sure? You don't get along with Les very well, do you?"

"I'm sure. And I can learn to like him, for your sake." He offered, his eyes searching mine. Bobby bent over and picked up the fallen letter, reading it before he handed it back to me.

"Sassy. Santos wrote this?" He asked with eyebrows held high.

I giggled and gave him a wide grin. "Yeah. Not like the Lester we all thought he was."

"I always knew there was someone sweet deep down in there." He chuckled, "I guess it just took a hottie to bring it out in him." I laughed and punched him in the arm. Leaning back against Greg's chest, I sighed.

"It's weird, you know my sixth sense?"

"Yeah." Both Bobby and Greg nodded.

"I'm not worried about Les, I have a feeling he'll be just fine. I'm the one I'm scared for. I just have a feeling that something is going to happen in the next 24 hours." I held out my arms and frowned, "Look. Goosebumps. I don't like this."

Bobby frowned and whipped out his phone. He dialed a number and waited, "We got a situation. Sassy." After a moment he snapped the phone shut and pulled me to my feet. "We're expected up on 7." My eyes grew wide and my mouth went dry. 7? We're going up to 7? OMG! We're headed to Ranger and Steph's apartment.

We found ourselves sitting in the elevator as it ascended to 7. I shivered and grabbed Greg's hand, nervous. He squeezed and seemed just as nervous as I was. The elevator dinged and we stepped out into the marble foyer. A huge hand carved wooden door opened to reveal Steph and Ranger waiting for us in the living room. The whole apartment was decorated in dark woods and black leather. It had a luxurious feel and smelled faintly of Bulgari shower gel. I smiled and seated myself on the love seat next to Greg.

"What seems to be the problem?" Ranger asked, seemingly relaxed in his home.

"Sassy, has a feeling something is going to happen to her in the next 24 hours." Ranger eyed me with a sceptical look on his face.

"Do you have a feeling what will happen?" He asked, his voice calm.

"Not exactly. I just have a weird feeling that something is going to happen." I answered, staring at my hands. Steph knelt at my feet and clasp my hands in hers.

She turned to look at Ranger, "It doesn't work how you think. She just gets a feeling and knows something is wrong. Just like me." She leaned forward and hugged me.

"You're confined to your apartment for the next 24 hours. I know it's a drastic step, but to ensure your safety, it has to be done." My face fell and I felt as if I would be a prisoner in Les's apartment forever.

"Sassy. I can spend the day with you. I have a surprise. Lula and Connie are coming over for a girls day tomorrow, would you like us to come over?"

I smiled and felt better. "I'd like that. I always wanted to meet both of them."

"We can bring food and movies. I'll bring my laptop and we can shop online." She offered and I was excited about the prospect of spending time with female companionship.

"I'd like that." I said and smiled at her. She patted me on the back and helped me to my feet. "I think we better let you and Ranger get back to your evening." I said trying to extracate Bobby, Greg and I from their home.

The three of us exited the apartment and headed down to 4 in the elevator. Bobby bumped me on the shoulder with his arm. "You had a long night. You ready to hit the hay?"

I sighed, feeling the weight of the day settling on my shoulders. "Yeah."

"Ranger has ordered someone to be in the apartment with you at all times. I have first watch, Flash has the second watch, Hal has third, Cal had fourth. I'm not sure if you'll be comfortable with the last watch, it's Binky."

I shrugged my shoulders and said, "As long as he keeps his hands to himself, we won't have a problem." Greg's eyes narrowed and he growled.

"Binky? The baby faced guy?" He asked his voice calm and low.

"Greg. It's fine. Les took care of it before he left. Look, if it makes you feel any better, you can stay with me during his shift. You can bring the computer components into the apartment and assemble it there." We stepped out onto the 4th floor and Bobby received a text message from the front desk.

"Uh, I'll be right back." He dashed off down the stairs while Greg and I made ourselves comfortable on the couch. Bobby returned a few minutes later carrying a bouquet of Bearded Iris's and a small box. He smiled and handed them to me. "Look what came for you." I looked between the flowers and Bobby's face before I held my hands out to receive my gifts. I smiled and buried my face into the blooms. A dreamy smile spread across my face and I pulled the card from the flowers to read it.

Beautiful blooms for my beautiful Baby.

Love, Lester

I looked at the beautifully wrapped box that laid in my hand. I tugged the midnight blue silk ribbon off of the tiny white box. Tugging the top off, I opened it to reveal a beautiful blue sapphire pendant surrounded by tiny diamonds in a platinum setting , suspended on a platinum necklace. I gasped and fingered the beautiful gift. I smiled and a lone tear rolled down my cheek. I held it out to Greg and he helped me clasp it around my neck. I leaned back on the couch admiring the flowers and sighed contentedly.

"He has beautiful taste." Greg whispered, watching me. I knew he was not just talking about the necklace, but me as well.

"Greg. I think I'm ready for bed. Will you watch over me?"

"I will." He moved into the bedroom, and dragged a chair to the corner. Bobby posted himself on the couch with the tv off and stared off into space.

I turned to Bobby, and drew him into a hug. "Thank you Bobby." He hugged me back and allowed me to change in the bathroom to ready myself for bed. I crawled into the bed and drew Les's pillow close to me. I tried for almost an hour to fall asleep, but no matter what position I laid in or what side I turned to, nothing would work. Greg watched me with facination and I groaned with frustration. "Greg." He was by my side in the matter of seconds. "Can you get me Les's cologne from the bathroom counter."

He returned handing me the bottle, a small smile played upon his lips. I spritzed Les's pillow a few times, set the bottle on the nightstand and lay back down, closing my eyes. Within a few minutes, I was fast asleep, dreaming of Lester.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The next morning I awoke to see Greg and Hal sitting at the kitchen table nursing cups of coffee. I snagged the biggest cup I could find in the cubbard and filled it with the steaming fluid of life. I drank almost half of it before I was lucid enough to talk. "Mornin'."

Both Hal and Greg chuckled, I frowned trying to figure out what was so funny. I looked around not finding anything, then looked at myself in the reflection in the oven. I shrieked, "Shit!" I was standing there in nothing but Les's t-shirt and barely there panties with my hair frizzed around my head. I ran into the bedroom and proceeded to make myself presentable. Forty minutes later, I walked out changed and perfectly coifed. I grabbed my mug and downed the last of the now cold coffee. Hal and Greg were working on a pile of computer parts now sitting on the kitchen table.

I giggled as Greg wiped his brow with the back of his hand, smearing dust across his forehead. "Hey, uh... do you always get so dirty putting computers together?" I teased, a slight grin on my face.

He laughed and wiped his face off with his shirt. Hal chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "You look better. Although I think I kinda liked the whole wild hair thing." I slapped his arm and rolled my eyes.

"Real funny there Halton." I slapped my hands over my mouth as he narrowed his eyes.

"How did you find that out?" He asked as he rose to his feet.

"Umm... nothing. No idea. Best guess?" I said trying to backtrack. He grabbed me by my arms and pinned me to the wall, gently.

"Sassy." He growled playfully. "How did you find out my full name? Only Ranger and Tank know that."

"Um, I kinda hacked the personnel files." I admitted hanging my head.

"No shit?" He said dropping me to my feet gently. "So, uh, any dirt on anyone else?" He asked a wicked grin covered his face.

"Nothing I can share right now, thank you very much. But I'll keep the info handy for when I need an out with the guys." I giggled. "Believe me, it will be worth the wait."

The rest of the morning went by soothly, until I received a text from Steph. She was headed up to Les's apartment with Lula and Connie. I gave the place a quick once over and deemed it fit for company and waited impatiently. The knock sounded at the door and I raced forward to open it. I think I may have screamed myself hoarse when I opened the door to find the three of them standing there waiting with a Pino's pizza, beer, a handful of DVD's and a laptop. I ushered them inside and jumped around them like a kid expecting his presents at Christmas. Steph giggled and introduced us.

"Lula, Connie, I'd like you to meet Stephanie Wilson." I hugged each of them and then backed off when I felt like I was too forward.

"I can't belive I'm finally meeting you both." I gushed. "You both look better than I had ever imagined." Connie looked at Lula and they smiled.

"Gurl, you got yo'self in a heap of trouble, didn't ya'?" Lula said, breezing past me to set the pizza on the counter. Digging into a slice of pie, she settled herself onto the couch.

"So, you and Lester?" Connie asked, eyeing the place. "So when's he going to be back?" She grabbed her own slice of pizza and posted herself on the recliner. I popped the top to a beer and leaned against the counter.

"He's in the wind. Best guess is sometime between three weeks to a year." I said trying to sound unaffected. But being the ever nosey women I knew they were, it didn't take them long to weasel more info out of me and my emotions along with it.

"So, the flowers from Les?" Steph said as she shoved the second piece of pizza into her mouth.

I sighed and nodded, I eyed the jewelry box next to the vase, at the same time Lula did. "Mmm, hmm! I bet he got you some bling to go with those flowers. Didn't he?"

I reached down under my shirt and pulled out not only Les's dogtags, but the sapphire pendant, too. All three women scrambled to their feet to get a better look at my new 'bling'. "Daym! Lester sure knows how to spoil a woman." From the kitchen table I heard Greg and Hal snicker. "What you two fine specimens laughin' about? I don't see no rings on your fingers. And I sure don't see no fine ass woman fallin' at yo' feet." I giggled at the looks that both Greg and Hal gave her.

"Lula, Connie. I want you to meet Flash. Flash, these nice ladies are Lula and Connie." I introduced the three. "Flash works at the Boston office, but he's transferring here to Trenton to be closer to me." The look from Connie made me explain further. "Flash and I have been best friends since high school." He grinned and resumed his tinkering with the computer.

"Gurl, you best friends with a hottie like him? Where did you grow up?" She asked, nearly drooling.

"California." I answered, feeling a little homesick. "Between San Francisco and Sacramento."

"You're a Cali gurl? Do you know how to surf?" Lula asked taking a long draw on her beer.

"Not exactly. I didn't live next to the ocean. I lived in between the ocean and the mountains, I'm from the Sacramento valley. It's about an hour and a half either way. I can show you if Steph will let me borrow her laptop for a sec." She nodded and I set it on the coffee table for all to see. I punched in Vacaville, Ca into the search engine and it popped off with a map of the area. I backed it out a little bit so they could see where it was in relation to the ocean and mountains. "See. Just a normal California city." Greg snickered.

I gave him my best dirty look. "What?"

"You said Vacaville was normal." He grinned, "When was Vacaville ever normal?"

"Well, it used to be." I said indignant. "You showed up and it was far from normal after that." I chuckled and threw a pizza crust at his head.

"Don't do that, or I'll spill the beans about you in high school." I stilled at his words. What story would he threaten me with? Oh, god! I should have kept my mouth shut. "Like the time you and Bobby Arre, ditched 5th and 6th period to go make out at the end of the runway at Travis only to be escorted back to your parents house by the MP's" I cringed, remembering the beating I took for that little fiacso.

"Or the time you made out with Steven Drangler in the middle of the football field during the homecoming dance our junior year." I paled at the thought. It hadn't been one of my better decisions.

"Or the time you and Sarah and Teri drove to the top of Mix Canyon in Sarah's old beat up Z-28. Remember, it was the time you all got caught skinny dipping in the pool of that vacant house by the sheriff's deputy." I groaned at the memory. I had been escorted back to Sarah's grandparents house still wrapped up in only a towel. It sucked.

"ALRIGHT! ENOUGH!" I shouted at him. "You going to tell all my embarassing stories?" I shot him another dirty look, only to hear Connie, Lula and Steph dying of laughter.

"You got caught by MP's?" Steph was doubled over with laughter, tears streaming down her face. Connie was red in the face from laughing too much and poor Lula, looked as if her spandex top was going to bust open from the sheer force of the laughs that were coming from her. "Skinny dipping?"

I rolled my eyes and huffed out, "Yeah, so? Like you guys never did anything stupid." Steph stopped laughing and held her side.

"I did do some pretty dumb stuff." She conceeded, still holding her side.

"Yeah, you boinked super cop and then ran him down in the buick." Lula said, giggling.

"Hey, he deserved it." Steph pointed at Lula, shaking her finger. "You would have done the same thing."

"I would have casterated him and then ran his ass over." I said, chuckling at Steph. I turned to Lula and Connie, "You know he used call his junk, 'the boys'." Steph rolled over onto the floor laughing hysterically, as did the girls. Both Hal and Greg looked at us like we had gone mentally insane.

Hal stood up after taking a good look at his watch, "Sorry ladies, my shift is over. Cal is up next." As he finished those words, a knock sounded at the door. Hal answered it and left a confused looking Cal standing in the entry way.

"Ladies." Said Cal, as he settled into the chair next to Greg in the kitchen. We girls all eyed him carefully before we settled down to watch a movie and finish off the pizza and beer.

As the credits rolled for The Mechanic, we girls began to critique the movie. "I'm sorry, I don't care what you say, any movie that has Jason Statham in it is a good movie." I said, fanning myself. "That man is hot!"

Lula rolled her eyes, "Gurl, that man ain't got nothin' on The Rock. that man is a fine piece of ass!" We all nodded in agreement.

"I got to meet him once, in Sacramento." The girls' jaws dropped and they all slid to the edge of their seats waiting for details. "I got to meet him backstage at a wrestling event I went to with my ex. I was standing there waiting for him to finish talking to one of his friends who worked at the area when The Rock walked up. He asked me where I got my leather jacket and it just took off from there. We must have talked for a half hour. I got his phone number and pissed off Brian all on the same night. It was great!" I grinned from ear to ear.

Both Connie and Lula scrambled across the coffee table to where my phone was sitting. "It's mine!" Yelled Connie.

"Bitch back off!" Lula shouted as she rolled on the ground with Connie wrestling for posession of the phone.

I stood up and snatched it out of their hands. I handed it to Cal, "Will you hang on to this for me? I'll get it later." He smiled and shoved it into his back pocket. I grinned at the girls and returned to my seat.

"Gurl, yo' mean! Denying a sista' like that." Lula pouted, "I mean come one! It's The Rock!" I rolled my eyes at the same time Steph did.

"Yo, Sassy. You want anything from the store? Manny's making a trip. He can pick you up some things if you need them." I grinned and grabbed a pad of paper and pen. After jotting down a small list of things, I folded the list and handed it to Cal.

"Make sure he gets everything on the list. No exceptions, okay?" He grinned, knowing I was up to no good. He walked out of the apartment only to return a few minutes later dying of laughter.

"You are one sick chick, Sassy." He chuckled as he returned to his seat at the table.

Giving my best Elvis impression, I said, "Thank you, Thank you very much!"

An hour later the girls and I were shopping online, trying to find some sexy panties and bras. "Stephanie, why are the guys calling you Sassy?" Connie asked finally unable to hold back her curiosity.

"It's a nickname I got back when I was a little girl. It started out as Sassy Lassy, but throught the years got shortened to Sassy. It stuck." I eyed a particularly sheer pair of thong panties, "What about those? They're hardly there. They're drive Les nuts." I asked pointing to the sheer black ones. Steph shook her head, no.

"These one's I think." She pinted to a pair of royal blue panties. "They're crotchless, smooth lace and satin and they won't ride up and give you a hell of a wedgie." I think if I were a guy sitting at the table, I would have been in the same predicament as both Greg and Cal. I could tell both were sporting huge woodys and looked as uncomfortable as all hell. I felt naughty and decided to torture them a little.

"Cal. Can I have my phone back?" I asked innocently. He hesitated for a second and pulled it out of his back pocket holding it up for me. "No. Can you hand it to me?" I gave Steph an evil look and she caught on immediately.

"Flash, can you hand me a beer?" We grinned at each other as the guys looked at each other knowing we knew full well they were packing. Greg sighed and stood first, he grabbed the phone from Cal and a beer from the fridge before he strode over to us handing us the requested items. Lula's eyes were glued to his crotch as were Connie's. The four of us girls all watched in sick facination as he walked back to the table and sat down.

Greg groaned and flashed a disgusted look at me. "Sassy, you can be such a bitch." He shook his head as he tried to resume concentration on the computer. He had it together and powered up, now the only thing he had left was to install additional software for me.

"You know you love me." I batted my lashes at him. "Don't you love me?"

"Would you be offended if I said no?" He asked as he stared at the computer screen.

"Yes, I might be tempted to tell the girls about how I used to see you naked every morning before school." I teased, he closed his eyes trying to decide whether or not it was worth killing me over or not. "Or I could tell them about the trip we made to Eureka to Sarah's apartment and how we had to sleep in the same bed together. You remember what you did to me in your sleep?" Both Lula and Connie were drooling at this point and Steph was trying not to laugh.

"Oh, god! Sassy. Please tell us." Connie was begging. I smiled and gave Greg and evil look.

"Well, let's just say, it was the first time I had ever seen someone so large." I smiled at him and backed away from the subject. Steph was crying from laughter, both Connie and Lula were giving Greg lustfull looks. Cal was slamming his hand down on the table, dying from the laughter. He stopped long enough to point to Greg before he busted up laughing again. Feeling that Greg had received enough attention, I stood, placed my hands on my hips and glared at Cal. "Callahan! I wouldn't be laughing too hard over there if I were you." The color drained from his face. Greg was dying from laughter as were the girls. I held my ground, as he rose to his feet stalking over to me.

"What did you say?" He growled.

"Callahan. Callahan. Callahan!" I smirked and stuck my tongue out at him. "Just because you're here to babysit me doesn't mean you get away scott-free." I giggled and playfully punched him in the gut. He narrowed his eyes at me and then relaxed slightly.

"That name does not leave this room. Got it?" He turned to the girls, growling at them. They all squeeked and nodded their heads. I rolled my eyes at him. He was such a softy, he may not want to admit it to Lula and Connie, but Steph and I knew better. He was a giant teddy bear.

The girls and I finished shopping online and decided to call it a day. We bid our goodbyes and the girls left me sitting in the apartment with Cal and Greg. "So when's shift change?" I asked a little nervous about Binky watching me. I fiddled with the hem of my shirt absentmindedly.

"In 20. Why?" Cal asked, noticing something was wrong.

"Nothing really." I sighed and flopped down onto the couch. From the look he gave me, I could tell he didn't believe me. "I just feel bad that Les, punched his lights out before he left."

Cal snickered, "It was pretty funny." He grew quiet, "Do you want me and Flash to stay instead?" He suggested, trying to put me at ease.

"Naw. I'll be okay." I plucked an Iris out of the vase on the coffee table in front of me, sniffing it. "You guys have a life outside of babysitting me. You go and do whatever you had planned. I'll just be sitting here mooning over Les." I said wishing Les was home already. It didn't take long for the 20 minutes to pass by, and soon Binky was staring at me across my kitchen table through two back eyes.

I felt bad at how bad he looked. "Binky. Look, I'm sorry Les hit you." My feeble attemp to appologize was nothing compared to the guilt he laid on me.

"You told Tank about me asking you out?" He seemed genuinely hurt. "I thought you liked me, too." I frowned, feeling bad.

"I do Binky. Just not that way." I said, groaning internally at how lame I sounded. "I'm sorry, Billy." He stopped and glowered at me.

"How do you know my name?" He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Umm. I have my secrets." I smiled and offered him a soda. "Soda?"

"No thanks." He was curt and to the point. "I'll just sit here and serve my time."

"Fine. If that's the way you want it." Taking offense to his reaction, I stomped to the couch and found a chick flick on the tv to watch. I turned up the volume and settled in. An hour later I received a text from Bobby.

BBrown: Food wil b there in 5.

I texted him back. Sassy: Thnx. Binky being a pill!

BBrown: Stil mad Les hit him?

Sassy: Yup.

BBrown: Tank had ur truck delivrd to garage 2nite.

Sassy: Good. I missed her.

BBrown: Not good. blew up after it landed. nothing left but bumpers and frame.

I jumped up screaming at the top of my lungs. "SHIT! FUCK!" I raced past Binky and out the apartment door, headed for the stairs. Binky caught me in a flying tackle just before I hit the stairwell.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He screamed at me.

"Someone blew up my truck." I kicked out of his grasp. "My baby!" I scrambled to my feet and flew down the stairs. The door to the garage slammed open to reveal the charred remains of my truck sitting near the back wall. I dropped to my knees and hung my head. Binky finally caught up to me, snagging my shirt in his grasp.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He shouted at me, clearly pissed. By this time, ten or so Rangemen had followed us into the garage. I was bawling at this point and could do nothing but pick up the remains of my bumper, cradling it to my chest. Binky looked at me like I was insane and shook his head. A moment later, Ranger was hauling me to my feet and dragging me back to the stairwell. I still had a hold of the bumper until it was unceremoniously ripped from my hands by an obviously pissed Ranger. I fell into step with him the rest of the way and forced back my tears.

Shoving me onto the couch, Ranger glared at me with his most intimidating look. I think I may have peed myself. "Do you know you put yourself in a perfect position to be shot at down there?"

"I'm sorry." I said quietly, trying not to cry. "She was my baby." I sniffled and wiped my nose with my sleeve.

"Sassy. You could have been killed." He sighed and sat on the couch next to me, his head in his hands. "The talks with Johnson did not go well." My lower lip trembled, and tears once again welled up in my eyes. "I put word out on the street that you are Santos's woman and an employee of Rangeman. It should quell most of the threats."

"Most?" I asked, fearful of those implications.

"Can't guarantee it will stop all the attempts, but it will stop the small time players." He patted my knee. "To tell you the truth, most big time players wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. The payout is too small. What we have to worry about is the guys in the middle. They weild some type of power, and 20 grand is still a lot of money for the trouble."

"So what can we do?"

"Pray Santos gets back soon. He needs to back up the claim that you're his." He frowned, "We need to get you training, starting tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

"I failed to mention that you will be required to pass a basic fitness test in order to qualify to work here full time. My Babe took it and passed, so can you. Even though I don't forsee any real street time for you, it is still a good idea to know you can handle yourself in certain situations." I nodded and smiled.

"Thanks. What time do I report to the gym?"

"0600. I should be done with Binky on the mats." I paled.

"Ranger, please go easy on him. It's not his fault I ran out of the apartment. He tried to stop me, he tackled me. I kicked out of his arms and made it into the garage. I was being stubborn and emotional, please don't hold that against him." I begged him, tears streaming down my face. "He doesn't deserve to get his ass kicked because of my stupidity. He already hates me as it is." I slumped to the floor when my knees gave out.

"Sassy. Binky allowed you to make it past him. He allowed you to escape his tackle. He wasn't able to catch up to you until after you had made it into the garage. That is completely unacceptable. He knows it and knows he's expected to report to the mats at 0500." He finally caught on to what I had said earlier. "He hates you?"

"Yeah. He was making advances at me and I told him I wasn't interested. He tried again even after Les told everyone I was his. Then Binky made some comment about keeping my bed warm for Les while he was gone. Les decked him."

"I knew they had a spat, but not why. Tank handed me the report about it tonight, I just hadn't read it yet."

"That's why Binky has two black eyes. When he showed up here for his shift, he and I got into a little argument and then he said he would sit at the table watching me and 'serve his time'." I hung my head in shame, "I'm sorry to disappoint you Ranger."

"I'm not disappointed in you. I am however going to replace your truck." I whipped my head up in disbelief.

"What?"

"The transport company that flew your truck to Newark didn't leave it in a secure parking lot. I hired them, they failed in their duty and so the responsibility to rectify the matter falls on me." I was shocked, I never expected Ranger to replace my baby.

"Ranger you don't have to do that." I countered.

"Sassy." That single word meant many things at that moment. One to stop arguing, two to accept his generosity and three I was being stubborn. I smiled and grabbed him in a hug. He stiffened at first, then wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back. He pulled apart after a moment and looked at me. "May I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you love Santos?"

I beamed, a grin from ear to ear covered my face. My eyes sparkled and danced as I answered, "I love him more than life itself. I want to spend the rest of my life with him." He grinned like I never knew he could and patted me on the back.

"Good." He stood up and walked out of the apartment, a moment later Bobby and Greg walked in tired and concerned.

"You alright?" Bobby asked, watching the smile play across my lips.

"Yeah. Ranger is replacing my truck. And I realized I'm completely in love with Lester." I flopped back in the couch and grinned like a mad woman.

All Greg could say was, "SHIT!"


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

The goosebump on my arms subsided, the queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach went away, but the sadness from losing my truck stuck with me. Yeah, I know Ranger will replace her, but I lost the one thing that for years made me happy. Working on her had become my outlet, using my hands to bring her to fruition had become my therapy during the long months of recovery from my attack. She was the one thing I knew I could count on, she never let me down. And now, sadly, she was nothing but a burnt out shell.

Ranger had the surveilance tapes from outside the transport facility in Newark sent to him this morning. And upon review, he and Tank found that two individuals had planted a bomb just after my truck was unloaded from the cargo plane. It had only taken seconds to install. "These men are proficient in bombs." Tank observed. "They were able to gain access to the restricted loading area, and they used untracable plasique." Ranger frowned.

"They're playing for keeps." He stated in a steely tone. Ranger had been pushed about as far as he was going to go. He was now pissed, and I did not envy the person who he targeted to unleash his wrath upon.

We shuffled out of the conference room and down to the gym. Ranger had finished his mat time with Binky around 5:30 AM, and had sent word for me to meet him in the conference room immediately. I had dressed and ran up the stairs as fast as I could. Now, that the meeting was over, Ranger was hell bent on teaching me how to take care of myself. I walked into the gym to see all the guys standing around waiting, walking up to Bobby, I asked, "What's going on?"

"Training for you." He smiled and ushered me to the middle of the mats, right in front of Ranger. I felt embarassed and wanted to cower.

"Sassy. Your training begins today." I looked around at the guys, they were all looking like they were taking this as seriously as Ranger was. Steph had worked her way to the front of the group and smiled and me, giving me a thumbs up. "I want to see how proficient you are in defending yourself." He walked around me in a large circle as he talked, as if sizing me up. I stood there shifting from one foot to the other. "I want you to understand, if at any time you feel threatened, just say stop and the exercise will cease immediately. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir." I knew this was the time to step up and learn what this men had to teach me.

"I want you to spar with Hector. Pull your punches. Escape his holds, put him on the ground, if you can." Hector walked up and I think I almost cried. He was scary looking with all his tattoos, but the look of care and concern in his eyes instantly put me at ease.

I held my hand out to him, "Hola, Hector. Como esta?" His face chaged from scary and intimidating to a warm smile.

"Bien, Sassy. E tu?"

"Asi, asi." He grinned and patted my hand with his. "Vamos a hacer esto." (Let's do this.) I nodded and shook his hand. I stepped back and took up a defensive pose, standing on the balls of my feet, hands in a boxers position. Hector came at me trying to sweep my feet out from under me, and I jumped up enough to catch him off guard and brought my foot down on his chest gently. He smiled and tapped my foot. I released him and we resumed our spar. He walked around me putting me into a bear hug from behind, pinning my arms to my side. I twisted in his arms, brought my knee up to his groin gently and held it. He made a face and let me go, I them gently stomped on the top of his foot and brought my fist to his gut. He tapped out and we resumed.

We sparred for a good 30 minutes before Ranger stopped us. We were both dripping sweat and I think I had accidentally hurt Hector more times than I'd like to admit. He had the beginings of a nice shiner forming over his left eye where I had inadvertantly elbowed him when I had tried to escape a hold he had my in. I walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek as I hugged him. A collective gasp came from the guys as Hector kissed my cheek in return. "Gracias, Amiga."

"Gracias, Amigo." I smiled at Steph, who was beaming.

"You did great. Better than I did when Ranger and Les first taught me." She playfully punched my arm and I giggled.

"I want to curl up in bed and sleep for the rest of the day." I said flopping down onto the mat.

"You have 20 minutes to collect you sidearm and head down to the range." Ranger instructed, his voice all business.

"Yes, Sir." I hopped to my feet and headed up to the apartment to retreive my Glock and a bottle of water. I downed the water as I walked down the stairs tp the garage level. Both Cal and Bobby were waiting for me at the door, they shielded me with their bodies on the walk across the open garage to the secured range. They ushered me in through the door and closed it behind me. Waiting on me were both Ranger and Ram.

"Target practice. Accuracy, speed and correct form." Ranger informed Ram. He nodded and took my by the arm leading me down the range a bit to an alley that was set up with all kinds of paper targets.

"Sassy, For right now I want you to warm up. Blow through a box and then we'll talk." He handed me a box of bullets and turned away. I pulled my gun out and checked it over carefully making sure it was in working condition. After tugging on the ear protection and safety glasses, I opened the box and loaded the magazine of the Glock. I set it down onto the ledge and held my hands up. I turned to Ram and nodded. He gave me one in return and both Ram and Ranger watched me blow away the little paper men.

Firing the last of my bullets, I flicked the safety on and ejected the magazine. I checked to make sure I hadn't counted wrong and made sure I didn't have one in the chamber. Seeing none, I set them down on the ledge and waited for Ram. He hit the retrieval button for the targets and waited patiently. I watched the tattered paper make it's way up the alley to us. I was smiling, most of my shots had centered around the head, chest and groin of the target. Ram smiled and turned the target to Ranger. He raised an eyebrow and gave an almost smile.

The rest of the morning was spent inside the range, Ranger had left after about an hour and left me in Ram's confident hands. I had just finished my range practice for the day when I sat down on a chair to collect myself a little bit. I wished Les were here to see me, he would be so proud. I sniffled at the thought and a lone tear escaped, rolling down my cheek. Ram was instantly at my side, kneeling at my feet. "Sweetheart, are you okay?" He wrapped me in his massive arms, I leaned against his broad chest. Unable to hold back the tears, I let them fall silently. He held me like that for what seemed like hours, his shirt was soaked from my tears, my eyes red and puffy.

Pulling back a little, I stammered, "I'm sorry, Ram. I didn't meant to cry. It's just..."

He cut me off, gently. "You miss him. Sweetheart, it's alright. We miss him too. He'll be back before we know it. He's really good at what he does. Nobody is better." He kissed the top of my head and helped me to my feet. I wrapped my arms around his middle and squeezed him in a modified bearhug.

"Thank, Ram." I released him and he walked me to the door. Outside waiting was Hal, and the two of them walked me back to the stairs.

The next two weks were pretty much the same. Gym first thing in the mornings, range time until lunch, searches with Steph until my shift was over and then I was left to my own devices for the rest of the night. Sunday nights became ladies night. Steph, Lula and Connie came over and we hung out watching tv, movies or talking. Greg went back to Boston after a week to pack up and move his things to Trenton. He came back after a week and moved into the apartment a couple of doors down. Ram, Cal, Hal and Bobby spent their free time with me, keeping me busy. To break the monotony, Ram began to take me up to the roof for fresh air and a change in scenery. We spent hours up there playing cards and just chatting about life. He always had a funny story about Lester, making me laugh. It was nice to hear background on Les, it made me fell like was getting to know him, even though he was a world away.

One morning, sometime in the middle of the third week Lester was gone, Tank called me into his office. Standing in front of his door was daunting, he was a beast of a man, and I really hadn't had time to get to know him yet. I knocked and a curt "Enter" was issued. I walked in to find Steph sitting on the couch, Tank at his desk and Ranger leaning against the wall, arms and ankles crossed. I began to get nervous, what was I doing here? Did I do something wrong?"

"Sassy. Sit down." I seated myself next to Steph and began to wring my hands. She reached out and stilled them, looking into my eyes. She was giving me her best blank face as were the others and my heart sunk.

"Is something wrong?" My sixth sense wasn't picking anything up, so it couldn't be too bad, I thought. "Am I in trouble?"

Ranger laughed softly. "No. Sassy. We have something for you." He held out his hand to reveal a stack of papers. Taking them from him, I looked from them to his face, confusion eveident on my face. "It's your contract with Rangeman. The salary is generous, benifits, 401K, housing stipend and moving expenses are included." He smiled and nodded to the papers. "Sign and you're officially an employee of Rangeman Inc." Steph handed me a pen and watched me flip through the pages.

I noticed that Ranger's replacement of my truck had been added into the employer requirements, and I grinned. I signed the documents with a flourish and handed them back to him. He dropped them onto Tank's desk and became serious once more. "There's just one more thing." He turned to the door and opened it, motioning for someone outside the room to enter. A man wearing BDU's, Bates boots and a wicked lopsided grin walked in. I wasn't sure if what I was seeing was real. I stood on shaky legs, walked over to the man, held my hand out to caress his face and promptly passed out.

A few minutes later, I awoke to find Bobby, Steph and Ranger hovering over me. I waved them off. "Oh, god! I just had the strangest dream." I sat up and held my hand to my head.

"Take it easy, Sassy. Let's get you on your feet." Bobby raised me up and I stood on shakey legs. I gruff laugh behind me made me stop and stand still.

"Baby?" I spun around and looked into the eyes of the man who made my heart leap out of my chest. Lester was standing there in his BDU, hands on his hips grinning. I launched myself forward into his arms, crashing my lips into his. I was swooning from the touch and smell of him. I couldn't get enough, our lips sought each other, as if to tell our brains that this moment in time was real. I pulled back slightly to look into his eyes.

"Lester. Oh, God! You're home." I buried my face into his chest. He lifted me up and I wrapped my legs sround his waist. My arms clung to his neck and he chuckled.

"Oh, yeah. I'm home." I cried and released all the tension I had held in for so long. My body was wracked with sobs as he held me, soothing me. His hands smoothed my hair and ran down my back, holding me fiercely to him. Everyone around us, began to move away and go on to their assigned jobs, leaving the two of us alone.

Between sobs I choked out, "Are you really here?"

"I'm home, Baby. I'm done." I nodded and held his face in my hands to get a good look at him. He was slightly thinner, his jaw covered in a weeks worth of growth and his eys shone like diamonds. I kissed the tip of his nose and laughed, giddy with the sight of him.

"God. I missed you so much. Let's get you cleaned up and fed." I wriggled out of his arms to stand. Grabbing his hand, I led him to Ranger's office and knocked.

"Enter."

I opened the door and smiled at Ranger, "Um, we're offline for a few days. Is that okay Bossman?"

"Granted." He grinned and tossed Lester a small package before we left and headed to the elevator.

Once inside, Les turned me in his arms to look at me. "Bossman?" He grinned, "So, I take it you decided to sign with us, huh?"

"Yeah. I just signed the contract when you walked in." I admitted and hugged him close. I couldn't get enough of him. His touch and his smell was intoxicating. I was living high on a drug called Lester Santos.

"Good. I hoped you would." He kissed the top of my head and gave a tired sigh.

We exited the elevator and headed to his apartment. Letting us in I led him to the bathroom. He remained quiet, letting me take the lead. I gently disrobed him. Dropping his clothes to the floor and placing his weapons on the counter. He stood there in front of my in all his glory as I took the sight of him in. I turned him slowly, checking him for wounds. I found a small puncture wound on his side almost healed and a mass of bruises along his ribcage. "Les, are you alright?" I gingerly touched them, my fingertips barely making contact with his skin.

"I'm alright, Baby. It's nothing. Got into a little fight with an insurgent, I survived." I looked into his eyes, fully understanding that the foe had not. I turned the water on and dropped my clothes onto the floor. His eyebrow raised and he chuckled, "My own personal shower girl?"

I giggled and dragged both of us under the warm spray of water. He groaned at the feeling of the cascading water. "It's been a while?" I asked as I lathered up a washcloth and began to wash him.

"Almost a week." I wrinkled my nose and rolled my eyes. I soaped him all over and then began to wash his hair. He closed his eyes and savored the feeling of my fingers massaging his scalp. I finished and shoved him under the spray to rinse, as I quickly washed myself. I was attempting to wash my hair when I felt his fingers running aong the back of my neck. His hands began to roam and I relished the feeling of his skin against mine. After I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair he pounced. He crushed his lips against mine, pushing me up against the cool tile wall. I clung to him, my legs wrapping around his waist. He dropped his head to my shoulder and bit hard, marking me for all to see. I growled and nipped playfully at his earlobe.

I could feel that he was rock hard as his tip rubbed against my wet entrance. He pulled back long enough to look into my eyes searching for approval. "Lester!" He slammed into me hard, pulling me down onto his huge shaft. I screamed his name and clawed at his back. He pounded into me, eyes squeezed shut, groaning at the feel of how tight I was. I came in the matter of a few seconds, screaming again, soaring with the pleasure. He let me down and turned me, now I was standing bent at the waist with Les probing at my entrance with his still hard erection. I eased myself back onto his tip, he groaned and lurched forward seating himself fully in me. I gasped and braced myself against the wall with my hands. His erratic and powerful thrusts sent us over the edge after he began to bottom out against my cervix. I felt him tighten and shudder just before he came and it sent me over the edge once more. I screamed, my body contracting, milking his huge cock as he spilled his seed into me. He jerked every time he spurt more of his cum into me, and I could feel the warm sensation from it deep within me.

I stood up and wrapped my arms around him, claiming his lips as mine. We kissed, sucks, nibbled and searched each other's bodies until the water ran cold. We shiverd as we exited the shower and wrapped ourselves in towels. "Les, I'll be right back." I left him in the bedroom and retreived two bottled of water from the fridge. When I returned I found Les laying across the bed, passed out. His towel was still around his waist, little droplets of water still clung to the ends of his hair. I pulled a blanket over him after I tugged his towel off. After dressing, I walked out of the room and dialed Pino's.

The smell of fresh pizza brought Les out of his slumber an hour later. I was sitting crosslegged on the couch munching on a slice when he walked into the room complettely naked. Unashamed, he waltzed over grabbed a slice and slid onto the couch next to me. My eyes must have bugged out of my head, because he chuckled. "You don't have a problem with me being naked do you?"

"Oh, hell no! You can be naked for as long as you want." I teased and kissed his bare chest. His abs rippled under the touch of my lips, so I traced the outlines of them with my fingertip. He caught me wrist in his hand, holding it still.

"Baby. Anymore of that and I won't finish my slice." I giggled and looked down at his crotch to see Little Lester coming back to life. I leaned over into his lap and blew a warm stream of air over his tip. He laid his head back and sighed. Using the tip of my tongue, I licked the dark tip of his shaft, he jumped slightly from the sensation. A husky laugh came from his lips, "Baby. Don't start what you can't finish." He warned. I smiled and licked him again, swirling the tip before I pulled back slightly.

The look of desire and lust filled his face. I lowered my head and took his tip into my mouth, sucking lightly and swirling his tip with my tongue. He groaned and leaned back in the couch. Nipping him sent a visible shudder through him and I giggled. He placed his hand on my back and rubbed lazy circles. I took him fully into my mouth, relaxing my jaw and allowed him to slip deep down my throat. I swallowed and he nearly came unglued. "Oh, god, Baby." I began to suck him as my head bobbed up and down, swirling my tongue around him. His hands soon found their way into my hair and were guiding me in the rhythm that he needed. I cupped his balls with one hand, massaging them gently, as my other hand pinched one of his nipples. He jerked once and came in my mouth, shooting his seed down my throat. I swallowed a few times, letting my throat milk him. He groaned and shuddered, in complete exstacy. I sat up and watched his face. The glazed look in his eyes was soon replaced by one of wanton lust.

Les rolled me onto my back, stripping me of my clothes. As I lay there naked, he spent time to explore my body, observing it. Les slipped to his knees in front of me, He hooked his arms under my knees and brought them up, opening my legs to him. He licked his lips, "I've wanted to drink from you from the begining." He snaked out his tongue and touched the tip of my clit, sending shockwaves through me body. He grinned and then drew his finger up and down my wet slit, groaning when he realized how wet I was already. He gripped my legs with his arms and held me still as his assault on me began. His tongue flicked across my clit once more and I arched off of the bed. He inserted his tongue into my wet center, lapping at the moisture, sending me through the roof. I panted with need, my body on fire.

I throbbed with the need for release, "Les, please. I want to cum. Make me cum!" I begged, clawing at the couch with my hands. He growled and resumed licking, sucking and nibbling me into a frenzy. He repeatedly ran his tongue up and down, back and forth over my clit pushing me closer and closer to the edge. He inserted a finger into my center, curling it in a come here motion, as he nibbled my clit. I arched my back, screamed and came in his mouth. His hands held me still, as he continually ran his tongue over my clit, dipping it onto my now dripping center. The rhythmic contractions drew his finger deeper and deeper into me, at that moment he knew I was ready for him. He raised up onto his knees, pulled me to the edge of the couch and impaled himself in me. I clawed at his back, trying to pull him in deeper. I needed to feel him inside me. He pulled back and slammed into me again, shiething himself fully. I gasped at the sensation and watched as his eyes rolled back into his head.

"Oh, god Baby. You're so tight. Your tight little pussy feel so good." He groaned as his body found it's rhythm. Lester thrust into me and found home. "God Baby! Make me cum in you. Make me yours. GOD! I've missed you!" His tempo sped up, his grip tightened and I matched him thrust for thrust. I could feel myself tightening around him. The feeling of him driving deep and withdrawing made my head spin. I wanted to hold on until he was ready, I forced control over myself. His sack tightened and I knew it wouldn't be long. His thrusts became frantic, and just as he thrust hard for the last time, I lost the battle of wills with my control and I flew over the edge. Lights exploded behind my eyelids, wave after wave of pleasure washed over me, as I felt myself contracting around his hard shaft. My muscles twitched, stripping him of every last drop of him, as he dropped over the edge and came. A loud animalistic growl burst from his throat and he buried his face into my neck. We held still for over 20 minutes as we came back to earth.

Les picked me up and carried me to the bed. He gently laid me down and slid in next to me. I felt like a pile of goo and I'm pretty sure he did as well. We fell asleep in each other's arms, careful not to break the contact we so desperately needed from each other.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Waking to the feeling of Lester's lips on mine was the most heavenly feeling I could have ever imagined. I groaned as I stretched my arms, legs and back. Les chuckled, "Feeling better Baby?" He traced the outline of my lips with his tongue. As soon as I touched my tongue to his, it was on. We made love slow and steady, enjoying the touch and feel of each other. When we lay there panting and basking in the afterglow, I rolled over and kissed his chest.

"Les?"

"Hmm?" He replied lazily, half asleep.

"Can we spend some time up on the roof?" I asked drawing my finger over his middle. "It's the only chance I get to go outside."

"You mean that's the only way you've been able to go outside since I left?" I nodded and frowned.

"Johnson still has the hit out on me." I said quietly. "Ranger put word out on the street that I was your woman and an employee of Rangeman, but it's only warned off the low level guys. The payout is too small for the big timers, so they didn't even bother with me. It's the middle level guys that still are trying."

"Any activity since I left?" He asked as he chucked my chin with his knuckle.

"Kinda." I said sadly. My eyes were downcast and I refused to look him in the eyes.

He stiffened. "What happened?"

"Ranger had my truck flown here, they unloaded it and before Bobby could pick it up, it blew up." I cringed as I said it, missing my baby.

"IT WHAT?" He shouted, jumping to his feet, he threw on a pair of jeans and a tshirt. "Get dressed. We need to talk to Ranger." He flopped down onto the bed and tugged socks and his boots on. I threw on my jeans and shirt and slid my feet into my flip flops. I practically had to run to keep up with Les, as he stormed out of the apartment and up to 5. I threw my hair into a quick ponytail and watched Les slam Ranger's door open. The look of irritation subtly covered Ranger's face.

"Santos." He calmly said, as he watched me skid to a stop at Les's side. "Problem?"

"What the fuck! You didn't tell me about the truck?" He shouted at Ranger. I quietly closed the door behind me, shutting off the Ranger and Lester show for the rest of the office.

"It wasn't important at the time you came home." He stated flatly.

"Not important?!" He shouted, "It was her baby. She could have been in it." Les hung his head in his hands as he sat down on the couch. "I could have lost her." He whispered.

"She wasn't. We're just lucky Brown wasn't in it." Ranger leaned back in his leather executive chair. "The facial recognition program ID'd the two bombers. Both associates of Johnson, we have surveilance on both and are waiting on word from Juniak to pick them up." He propped his feet on the desktop, his pantleg pulled slightly showing his knife and backup semi-automatic in it's holster. "Sassy, has been on lock down since you left."

"Shit!" Les turned to me and brought me into his arms, "I'm sorry Baby. We'll get this whole mess straightened out. I promise." He kissed my temple and leaned his head against mine.

"Ranger? What are we going to do? I can't keep living like this forever. I feel like a caged animal. I feel trapped in these walls." I sighed, knowing the answer was not an easy one to come by.

"Santos, take her to the cabin. Get her out of here. She needs to relax and so do you. It'll do you both some good." His eyes sparkled.

Lester's head shot up to look him straight in the eyes. "How long do I have?"

"A week." He said dropping his feet to the ground and standing. "I need you back after that, paperwork is backing up." Les frowned at the mention of pushing paper.

"Cabin?" I asked, my curiosity peaked. With the way both Lester and Ranger both smiled, I felt as if I were a lamb being led to slaughter.

We spent the rest of the afternoon packing for a week's vacation. I made sure to pack the new bikini I had received in the mail a few days ago. When the duffle Lester had given me was packed with my clothing, I finished filling it with my hair and facial products. I shoved the last bottle into the duffle and cinched it shut. I dragged it to the front door and huffed out, "Les, are you sure you can't tell me any more about this place?"

He popped his head out of the bedroom. "Nope. Other than the core members own it, I can't tell you any more about it." He snickered and finished packing his duffle. Of course the majority of his duffle was occupied by weapons.

"Lester, you've got to be kidding me! Are all these yours?" I pointed the huge stack of the size fifteen shoes. He held up another duffle, and started to stuff them in.

"What? It sucks having big feet. I need a seperate duffle for just my shoes." I rolled my eyes. I had only packed a pair of flipflops, a new pair of hiking boots I bought online, and a pair of black FMP's. He finished and we surveyed the apartment for anything last minute we might need. Finding nothing, Les texted Bobby a quick message. Less than a minute later, Bobby, Flash and Ram were standing at our door waiting on us. They each grabbed a duffle and lugged them effortlessly to the elevator.

We rode it to the garage and I waited in the elevator for the guys to move into position as we had done every day for the past three weeks. Les watched me with facination as I manouvered myself inbetween Ram, Flash and Bobby, effectively hiding myself between them. We walked to a standard black Rangeman SUV, I climbed into the back seat and ducked down. They loaded the bags into the trunk and turned to both Les and I. I leaned out far enough to give Bobby a quick hug around the gut, he chuckled and patted me on the head. "Take good care of him Sassy." I grinned and pinched his arm lightly. He backed off giving Ram an opportunity to say goodbye.

"Rammy!" I said wrapping my arms around his neck. "Take good care of Bobby for me. Les will need him in one piece when we get back." I gave him a quick peck on the cheek and sat back in the SUV. The look on Lester's face was priceless. He wasn't sure if he should shake Ram's hand or punch him in the jaw.

"Rammy?" Les chuckled.

"She can call me what ever she wants. I'm her big brother." He said proudly. "She said so." I giggled and rolled my eyes.

"I told Ram he was like a big brother. Caring for me, but calling me out when I'm trying to pull bullshit." He rolled his eyes, and pecked my cheek. "See ya' Sis."

I held my arms out to Greg and Les seemed to stiffen slightly. "Greg, you stay in one piece. I"ll be back in a week. I love you." I kissed him on the lips and pulled back to find Lester growling and giving us a death stare. Greg backed off and held up his hands in mock surrender.

"Les, please." I said exasperated, "He's my friend." I rolled my eyes and shrank down onto the backseat, where I was hidden from outside prying eyes. Les slammed the door shut and angled into the driver's seat. He did a quick complicated handshake with Bobby before pulling out of the garage.

We darted around town for a while, as Les ensured we weren't being followed. After about an hour, he allowed me to crawl into the front passenger seat, as we hit the highway. "Something you need to tell me about Flash?" He said, sounding a little miffed.

"What? I told you we've been friends since high school, Les. And yes, I do love him. He's a brother to me, just like Ram and Bobby. Nothing will change that. He was there for me when I got my heart broken for the first time. He was the one to take me to the ER when I broke my arm. He was the one that was there for me day in and day out when I needed him. We lost touch, and we have a lot to catch up on. But, Les, I want you to know. _You_ are my best friend. You take that place in my heart, just like you take the space I have carved out for the love of my life. Please don't be jealous, there's no need. I love you." I placed my hand onto his knee, hoping the contact would help to calm him.

He relaxed and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm still hypersensitive from my mission. It's going to take a few days to wear off." He patted his hand on mine. "It's a couple of hours to the cabin, you can take a nap if you want to Baby."

"I just want to enjoy being out of the office." I plastered my face to the window and absorbed the colors and changes of scenery. I felt like the cage door had been lifted and I was running free. Before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

Two hours later, I felt myself being carried in Lester's arms. I mumbled something about being safe and snuggled down deeper into his chest. I awoke after it had turned dark, I could feel Les's arm draped over my waist. His slow and steady breathing told me he was fast asleep, I eased out from under his arm and went to find the bathroom. I finally found it a moment later, and gasped at the sight before me when I flipped on the light. What I assumed was going to be a barebones bathroom was anything but. The room was as big as Les's Livingroom and kitchen in his apartment at Rangeman. It was covered in polished black marble, brushed pewter fixtures, a huge jacuzzi tub, a shower large enough to fit six people, duel sinks, and a vanity to put all others to shame. I was in heaven. The moment my feet touched the floor I moaned, the floor was heated from underneath and was nice and toasty warm.

I finished my business and headed back to bed. I slid under the covers next to Les. He woke up enough to shift over slightly to mold his body to mine. "G'night Baby. I love you." I kissed his the arm that found it's way over me and sighed contentedly.

"I love you, too. Good night Les." I closed my eyes and fell fast asleep.

I awoke the next morning, sorrounded by the softest sheets I had ever experienced. I snuggled against Lester's chest and sighed, my eyes remained closed. The call of a blue jay outside the window made me smile, and the twittering of songbirds forced my eyes open. The window was open letting in the cool morning air, the curtains fluttering in the ever so slightly breeze. I smiled and stretched my well rested muscles. It didn't take long for Les to wake up as well. "Morning Baby." His smile broke as he yawned.

"Where are we?" I asked still curious.

"Pennsylvania. Just outside Michaux State Forest." He stretched, flexing his abdominal muscles making them jump as he moved. I watched in silent facination, my mouth suddenly feeling dry. "See something you like?" He asked huskily.

I rolled over onto my back and giggled. "Nope. Just thinkin' to myself how much you let yourself go." I grinned and pulled the covers over my head. He huffed and pounced on me, pinning my arms to the bed, his face inches from mine.

"Let myself go, huh?" He growled playfully. "I thought I had slimmed a little." I frowned and looked at him with a critical eye.

Suddenly serious, I said. "Honey, your face is a little thin, and so is your body. Did you get enough to eat when you were gone?" He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Yes, mom! I ate three squares a day and drank all my milk." He grinned and then let it fade. His face serious, "I ate when I could. There was a couple of days where I missed full meals because I couldn't leave the position I was hunkered down in. I managed to eat energy bars and a few insects I could catch." I made a face at the mention of insects and it garnered a chuckle from him. "Sorry, I'll have to remember not to tell you about those parts again."

"Thanks." I rubbed my hands over his washboard stomach. "Should you be telling about your missions? I know they're classified." I was nervous that Les would be in trouble if he ever let something slip.

"I'm telling you what I can. Remember, we promised to talk to each other." He twisted a strand of my hair in his fingers. "I am telling you because I want you to know what kind of hell I lived through. So you can understand why it was so important for me to go and why it was so important to come home to you." I nodded, my face rapt with attention.

"You never really had a reason to come home before?"

"Not really. I mean I have my family, and Rangeman, but nothing that made me want to come home. Until now." He hugged me close, I placed my chin on his chest and watched him talk. "I don't talk to my family for months on end, and Rangeman will still run smoothly even after I leave. But I couldn't leave you like that. I never had the pull to get home before, it was intense. My CO asked me what had changed in my life. I told him all about you, he told me to go home and never look back." He smiled dreamily, thinking back on the conversation with his CO.

"Lester, are you sad your contract is up?" I asked, trying to put my mind at ease.

"Yeah, a little. I'll miss the adrenaline rush. But I can get that at home now." He smiled and drew me up into a toe curling kiss. After he released me, he continued, "But overall, I won't miss it. I now have a warm dry bed every night, three squares a day, a job I love and the woman of my dreams. Who wouldn't want that?"

"No one I know."

I grinned and rose off of the bed. I quickly dressed in one of Les's oversized t-shirts. He pulled on a pair of lounge pants and half-dragged me down the stairs to the kitchen. I stood at the top of the stairs dumbfounded, totally awestruck at the sight before me. This was no ordinary cabin, this was the Rangeman cabin. It was as if someone had taken an ordinary cabin and pumped it full of steroids. It was massive and nothing like I had seen before. The great room reminded me of what an old ski chalet look like in old movies. Old skis and snowshoes crisscrossed the ceilings, birchwood framed high end paintings and photographs, a bearskin rug lay in front of a a massive stone fireplace, the walls were handhewn logs aged to a weathered grey, the furniture was also handhewn with a clear shellack finish. I felt as if I was in heaven. The warmth and relative relaxed nature of the place instantly put me at ease.

Les pulled me down the stairs and into the deceptively modern kitchen. The cabinets and fridge were hidden behind well crafted wooden doors matching the walls, the stove was a modern replica of a 1950's gas stove and the dishwasher was hidden behind another well crafted door. I grinned at the decor wondering if it were real. In my dreams I had imagined a place just like this to escape to when the world became too much to handle. Les handed me a huge cup of coffee and leaned back against the counter, watching me. "Do you like it?"

"I love it. It's like the cabin I dreamed about when I was a kid." I sank down into the couch covered partially by a handwoven blanket. "It's so beautiful."

"Are you up for a little exploring?" He asked grinning. "All the times I've been here, I've never left the cabin."

"Sounds like fun."

We trudged back upstairs and dressed properly for an outing. The whole day flew by, spending time with Les outside was a luxury I wasn't about to give up just yet. We ate dinner by lantern light out on the back patio and stared up at the stars before we went to bed. We made love like it was the first time, taking our time, giving to each other. I fell in love with Les all over again, making my heart swell. We fell asleep sometime after midnight, laying together, our bodies intertwined.

Morning dawned and a new day began for us. We shared an intimate breakfast in bed, feeding each other. Lester then showed me the pond near the back of the cabin. We spent the day fishing and lounging in the sun. I couldn't have been happier. It was so relaxing and food for my soul. As we lay in the sun, soaking up the warm rays of sun, Les rolled over onto his stomach next to me. I blocked the sun shining in my eyes with my hand and watched him. He was fidgiting and acting as if something was wrong. "Les? Is everything alright?"

'Yeah, I'm just fighting off the adrenaline cravings my body develops after a long mission. It will subside in a day or two." He lay back and forced himself to relax.

We cooked a simple dinner of fresh fish, steamed vegi's and rice. Dessert was a simple quick chocolate cake I had baked while dinner cooked. We each had a large piece and I moaned with every bite, much to Les's chagrin. Laying together on the lounge chair on the patio, we gazed at the stars.

"Can you believe how many stars we can see from here?" I asked amazed at the sheer number we could see with the naked eye.

"Just imagine how many we still can't see. Millions and millions. Mind boggling isn't it?" He said absentmindedly fingering a strand of my hair. He shifted slightly and moved so that he could look me in the eyes. "Baby. I'm not the best with words, but I will try." He slid off of the lounge to kneel at my side. "I have loved you from the second I saw you. I can't imagine my life without you, and I don't want to. I love you with all of my heart. I want to give you everything. You are my love, my life, my happiness. Let me give you my love. Let me give you a life with me. Let me make you the happiest woman alive." I gasped as he held out a beautiful sapphire ring matching the pendant he gave me when he was in the wind. "Stephanie Anne Wilson, will you do me the extraordiary pleasure of becoming Santos. Will you marry me, Baby?" I had tears streaming down my face, a sob caught in my throat, I held out my hand and allowed his to slip the ring onto my finger. He held his breath, waiting for my answer.

"Lester. I love you. Yes! YES!" I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulled him to me and kissed him for all I was worth. A few minutes later he pulled back dazed and disheveled.

"I'm getting married." He whispered, before he shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm getting married!" I laughed and pulled him back to me, my tongue snaked out to trace his lips. He opened his mouth to moan and my tongue found it's way inside to touch to his. Soon they were dancing on their own, while our hands roamed each other's bodies. As we lay on the lounge chair sharing ourselves, the all too familiar sound of a hammer cocking on a gun stopped us both cold. Les moved his body over mine protecting me, I was rigid as a board.

"Don't move. You both in fo' a world a hurt." The man with the gun slammed the butt down on the top of Les's head with a thump, knocking him out cold. He slumped onto me, pressing me into the lounge chair.

"Please, don't hurt me." I begged him, tears streaming down my eyes for a different reason now. "Please, I can pay you more that what Johnson will pay. Just don't kill me and you can have the money."

"Bitch. Look at me. I am Johnson." I screamed as I focused in on his face in the darkness.

He grabbed me by the hair and dragged me inside the cabin. He tossed me onto the couch and paced in front of me. I noticed he was still wearing the orange jumpsuit that inmates wear. " . Please, I don't know what I did to make you want to hurt me."

"Bitch you watched me get caught by them no good Rangedicks. I can't be havin' no woman tellin' stories 'bout me gettin' caught by them fuckers." He sneered at me, obviously pissed beyond all reason.

" . I was scared, I passed out. I was afraid of them, not you." I tried to side with him. "They were the ones I didn't trust. I just thought you were a man in trouble."

"Bitch, you heard 'em. Told you I's was a bad man. Didn't they?" He shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I didn't believe them. You look like such a nice man. Why would they say thing like that?" I stalled for time. " . If I don't treat the man on the patio, they will try to say you meant to hurt him. If I fix him up you can say that I hurt him and you fixed him up. You be the hero, I'll be the bad guy." I tried anything I could think of to get him to relax and put the gun down.

He rubbed his face with his hand. "Why you tryin' to help me?"

"It's what I do. I don't want you to be blamed for something that wasn't your fault. It was my fault. I should be the one in jail, right?" He put his gun hand down and thought about my reasoning. "Let's get him on the couch and I can doctor up his head, real quick." I slowly stood up and took baby steps to the door.

He raised the gun at me again, "Don't try anything stupid. I will shoot yo' ass." I nodded and slowly made my way out of the door and to the lounge. I tried to drag Les inside but he was too heavy. " , I need help to get him inside. Can you put the gun down and help me?" I asked, praying that he would.

"Bitch! Get the first aide kit and fix 'em out here."

"Okay, I think there is one in the bedroom." He followed me upstairs, watching me like a hawk. I rounded the corner of the hallway and came to the door for the bedroom. I slowly opened it and walked to the closet. " , I have a medic kit in my duffle bag in the closet. I'm going to reach down and get it real slow." I knelt down on the floor and dragged Les's duffle closer to me. I slid my hand into the bag, and knew it was now or never. I jerked my head up towards the window. "Oh! Did you hear that? It sound like someone is coming up the driveway."

He turned and nervously pulled back the curtain to look out the window. It gave me enought time to pull out Les's sidearm, flick off the safety and aim right at Johnson's head. "Freeze Asshole." I ground out between clenched teeth. He spun around aiming for me wildly. I kept my eyes open as Ram had instructed me and slowly squeezed the trigger. It was as if life was in slow motion, the bullet fired from Les's weapon and tore into Johnson's face, right between the eyes. His bullet tore through my left shoulder. I was knocked back into the closet, a primal scream came from deep within my throat. I forced myself back onto my knees and emptied the gun into his body. I dragged myself to my knees, crawled and found Les's phone on the nightstand. After dialing 911, I hung up and called the control room.

"Rangeman. Ram speaking."

I could barely speak, so weak from blood loss. "Rammy?"

"Sassy? GOD! Are you alright?!" He was screaming into the phone.

"Les hurt..." I blinked back the darkness that threatened to overtake me. "I'm dying..."

"SASSY! SWEETHEART HOLD ON!" Ram shouted through the phone, I barely heard it, the fog started to creep in, making things fuzzy and blurry. In the matter of seconds, I allowed the darkness to close in.

I was surrounded by a bright light, I felt no pain, no regrets, no fear. I felt at peace and happy with life and my choices. A voice from all around me spoke, "Stephanie Wilson. You are not needed here yet. Your destiny has not been completely fulfilled. You must return to your body and finish your life first. I did not call you home yet, return to your body." I felt at that moment a sharp jerking motion and I was falling backwards, plunging into darkness, pain, regret and fear. I clawed at the light trying to pull myself back, but it did not work. I felt as if I slammed into a brick wall, and I opened my eyes.

Staring back at me was the greatest sight I had ever seen. Lester was watching me from the side of my bed, as people worked on me feverishly. He had tears streaming down his face, and I didn't understand why. I tried to talk, but found that I was unable to, I had a breathing tube down my throat. I raised my hand, only to see an IV sticking out of it. I rolled my eyes and frowned as best as I could. My eyes cut to Lester who gave me a relieved smile. I winked at him and closed my eyes, needing the rest. I fell into a fitfull sleep until Lester was finally allowed to hold my hand. Once our contact was made, I fell asleep instantly and dreamed of us.

I awoke hours later to the sound of familiar voices arguing outside of my room. I instantly recognized Les's voice, and Steph, but it took a second for the third voice to register. OMG! It was my mother! Shit! I squeezed my eyes shut and sighed. My monitors began to react to my rising blood pressure and heart rate. Les ran into my room and grabbed my hand. I had had enough. I dropped his hand gripped the tube with both of my hands and ripped it out right in front of Les, Ranger, Steph and my mother.

"Water." I croaked, barely able to speak. Les was at my side less than a second, holding a cup to my lips. Ranger left the room to retreive the doctor. After I had finished the water, Les leaned down and kissed me on the lips gently. My mother sounding pissed, huffed out. "Get away from her. You are the reason she was attacked in the first place." Lester looked hurt at her words and began to back away. I shook my head slowly and grabbed his hand.

"Mom. He's my fiancee. He stays." I croaked, still sounding quite froggy.

"He is not." She retorted.

"Look." I held up my hand to reveal an empty finger. I looked panicked, and gave a cry of dispair. Steph reached down into the personal effects bag at my feet and pulled out my sapphire ring. Les grabbed it and placed it back onto my finger, giving my mom a wide grin.

"Oh, good lord! What have you done?" She asked me, anger in her voice.

At this moment Ranger managed to return, dragging the doctor by his jacket. After he straightened his coat, he introduced himself, "I'm Dr. Woodhouse. Stephanie, I see you're awake. You gave us quite a scare. Do you know where you are?" He began to give me a quick diagnostic assessment.

"The hospital. Johnson shot me. I killed him. He tried to kill Les." I said geting more and more upset with each word. I forced myself to calm down, taking deep breaths and counting to twenty.

"I see you got impatient with your breathing tube. You yanked it out. You're going to have a sore throat for a few days because you did that, but you shouldn't have any lasting effects." He listened to my heart beat and checked my pulse.

Motoring my bed upright and into a sitting position, he gently pulled back the bandages covering my bullet wound. My mother gasped and sheilded her eyes. The rest of my friends looked at it with interest. "You have one in the same spot I do now Sassy." Steph teased. My mother paled at her comment. Steph saw it and ushered her out of the room. " , let me take you to get a cup of coffee. Stephanie needs to talk with her doctor." They walked away and I sighed in relief.

I turned to Ranger, "You can use her as a form of torture. She's worse than ." Laughter showed in Ranger's eyes, while he remained still as a statue, his face blank.

"Les," I turned my head to look at him. "Don't let her take me back. I belong with you." I begged. The doctor gently replaced the bandages, and scolded me.

" . I can not have you getting upset. You need to sleep. You can have visitors until you feel tired. But after that you need to get some rest." He patted my foot, in a gesture of friendship. "I will allow your fiancee to stay with you. I'll have a cot brought up for you ."

Les shook the doctor's hand. "Thank Dr. Woodhouse."

"Les?" I watched him drag a chair over to the side of the bed and sit, taking my hand in his.

"Hmm?" He rubbed my knuckles with his thumb, making it hard to think.

"What happened?" He looked from me to Ranger and then back to me once more.

"Baby. Johnson escaped from county lockup. He made his way back to a friend's house and began to research Rangeman. He found an old contract worker we used to employ, threatened him and his family trying to find out where we would be hiding you. After he shot the wife in the foot, Tate talked. He told Johnson about the safehouses and the cabin. Johnson found the cabin right after we got there. He was waiting for the right time to attack." He stopped and shook his head. After a moment he continued. "He managed to sneak up on us and he knocked me out with the butt end of the gun. He dragged you inside and all I know after that is the paramedics reviving me and watching you being pulled out on a gurney."

Patting his hand, I filled in the blanks. "Johnson was going to kill me, he was completely irrational. So figured being irrational was the best way to go. I convinced him he wasn't a bad guy. That I thought he was a man in trouble and I could help him. I convinced him to let me fix you up so I could go to jail for hurting you. That we would say that he was helping you. That I was the bad guy. It worked, I told him I had a medic kit in the duffle bag in the closet. I distracted him saying someone was coming up the driveway. He turned and I pulled out your sidearm, took off the safety and fired. I hit him between the eyes." I squeezed my eyes shut, picturing the events all over again. "He hit me in the shoulder. I emptied the clip into him and then crawled to find your phone. I called 911 and then called control. Rammy picked up. I told him to you were hurt, and then I told him I was dying."

Les picked up where I had left off. "You were transported to the local hospital, in critical condition. They worked to remove the bullet and stabilize you. You were transferred to St. Francis in Trenton. Yesterday, you went into cardiac arrest. They had to shock you back to life. I had never been so scared in my entire life." A lone tear rolled down his cheek. I wiped it away with my finger.

"So, I wasn't dreaming?" I asked.

"What?" Les looked at me weird.

"I dreamt I was in heaven and that god told me I had to go back, I wasn't done fulfilling my destiny. I wasn't called home yet. Then I slammed back into my body and opened my eyes to see you there next to my bed." I started to feel a little tired.

"Baby. You opened your eyes right after they brought you back after your heart stopped."

"I came back for you Lester. I'm not done with you yet." I smiled weakly and sighed.

Ranger interupted our little conversation. "Sassy. There's a few guys who wanted to see you." He nodded to the door. I watched as Rangeman after Rangeman walked in and visited with me. Near the end of the line were Hal and Cal. I held their hands and accepted kisses on the cheeks from them. They walked out letting Greg and Ram in. I kissed both of them on the lips, without a single flinch from Les. I grinned and watched him grin back, knowing what I was happy about.

"Greg. Ha,ha. I got three bullet holes now, you got none. Better hurry up, you're falling behind." I teased, an evil smile played upon my lips.

"Cheater. You had a two bullet head start." He kissed the top of my head. "You better get some rest. I'll be outside your room on guard duty all night. Call me if you need anything." I nodded and turned my head to Ram.

"Rammy." He dropped to his knees next to the bed, laying his head in my lap. I watched the tears well up in his eyes and spill over his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Sassy. I'm so sorry." He began to sob, both Ranger and Les walked out of the room leaving us alone. "I couldn't get there in time."

"Rammy? What are you sorry for?" I asked totally confused.

"I wasn't there in time to save your baby. You miscarried. The doctored confirmed you were pregnant. I'm so sorry. I let your baby die." He sobbed into my lap, his shoulder shaking with pure saddness. I sat there stunned. I had been pregnant? There was no way. I pulled his head up from my lap and looked into his eyes.

"Rammy. I wasn't pregnant." I stated. The confusion in his eyes made me repeat myself. "I was never pregnant."

"How?" He raised his eyes to mine, unsure I had really told him those words.

"I'm on the shot. It can give a false positive on a pegnancy test." He jumped up to his feet.

"I didn't kill the baby?" I shook my head.

"There was no baby to kill Rammy. You're fine. I'm fine. Les is fine. No baby right now. Okay?" He kissed me fully on the lips and then kissed the top of my head. He bounced out of the room and Les came in looking at me funny.

"What just happened?" He asked, looking confused.

"Did the doctors tell you I miscarried?" I asked directly, wanting to know the truth.

"Yes." He flinched, thinking I was going to lose it.

"Honey. I was never pregnant. I'm on the shot. I started my period." I explained, as Bobby walked in catching the last of what I had said.

"You gave a false positive on your test." He surmised and frowned. He kissed me on the cheek, "You'll be released into my care in a few days. But once you're mine, I don't back down very easliy. I'll make sure you're completely healed before I allow horn dog here, at you again." He patted Les on the back, grinning.

After Bobby walked out, I took Lester's hand in mine. "Are you upset we're not pregnant?" I asked, fearful of his answer.

He dropped his head and sighed, "Kinda. I love the idea of us having a family, but I was scared all the same about how you would handle losing a baby. It's complicated."

I giggled and nodded, "Yeah. I know. We'll try when we're ready."

The door opened and Ranger strode in carrying a gigantic teddy bear wearing fatigues. "Tank sent this to you. He's sorry but, he's the only one holding down the fort right now. He'll be here tomorrow." He propped the bear in the corner of the room, before he walked over to my bedside. He reached out and held my hand in his, gently. "Sassy. I'm glad you're okay, Johnson had me chasing him all over the state, tracking him down to the cabin was the last thing we did before Ram got your call. I'm sorry, I didn't protect you like I should have. I let you down, I'm sorry."

I was shocked, then my full on rhino mode kicked in. "Did I just hear the great Ranger Manoso appologize? I think I'm hearing things, because the Ranger I know does not appologize. He learns from his mistakes and kicks ass next time." I turned to a smiling Les, "Les, who the hell is this sorry excuse for a man standing in front of me appologizing?"

"I don't know, but he is pretty pathetic." Les taunted.

"SANTOS!" Ranger growled in warning. "I may have appologized to Sassy, but I didn't say I'm sorry to you." He slapped the back of Les's head. Les winced and held his head.

"Damn, Cousin! I still have a concussion. Cabron!" He spat at him before Ranger bent down kissed me on the lips gently and told me, "Welcome to the family, Stephanie. Congratulations." He straightened and strode out of the room, leaving Lester fuming and me reeling from his kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Three days later I was released into Bobby's care. Les and Ranger arranged for a fleet of Rangeman vehicles to escort me back to Haywood. Fighting the urge to scream when I was presented a wheelchair at my departure from the hospital, I rolled my eyes and allowed Les to wheel me out to the SUV. My mouth hung open as I took in the sight of 15 black SUV's carrying Rangemen who were all sporting Rangeman t-shirts that read 'My Sass can kick your ass!' across the front. I grinned and shook my head. I had to admit to myself, the sight of all those fine ass Rangemen wearing those tight t-shirts made me a little turned on. I could tell Bobby ESP'd my physical state, because he barked at the men, "Knock it off! You're going to put her right back into the hospital. Cover those shirts now!" Watching their faces fall was too much for me.

I reached out and touched Bobby's arm with my hand, "Bobby. Don't spoil their fun." I smiled and allowed him to help me stand. I gave them all a little wave as Les helped me into the SUV. We rode in silence the whole 15 minutes it took to get back to Haywood. After we arrived to a garage full of black clad bad asses, we walked into Les's apartment and relaxed for a few mintues. I grimmaced as I shifted my position on the couch, putting too much pressure onto my left shoulder and arm.

"Baby? Let me help you when you need to move." Les admonished gently, adjusting the pillow behind my back for me.

"Les, I am a grown woman. I can handle moving on the couch, thank you very much." I rolled my eyes, I knew I was going to be treated like an invalid for quite some time to come. "I need my independence, I want to be able to do my own thing." I said, trying to convince myself just as much as Les. "I'm a big girl. I can do it."

"Well, big girl or not, don't make me tell Bobby you're trying to over do it an hour after arriving home." I still at his words. Not about Bobby, but he had said the word 'home'. Strange as it sounded, it felt right, not forced and certainly not coerced.

"Home?" I asked trying not to read too much into those words.

"Yeah, Baby. Here, this is home." He grinned and patted my knee with soft touch. "I wanted to talk to you about something." He hesitated, unsure of how to broach the subject. Heaving a sigh of resignation, he continued, "I think we should look into buying a house to call our own. I mean, we'd still have this apartment for us, but having a home to go to after a long day would be heavenly."

I creased my brow, deep in thought. I worked it over in my head, crunching numbers. "Would we be able to afford it?" I asked, not expecting him to answer it.

"Baby. We both make six figures, we can handle it." Les's lips caressed mine ever so slightly, conveying the feelings of love he had for me, hidden deep within my chest. "Don't you think it would be better to have a place to call our own? Away from here?"

I grinned, "Yeah. I think it's a wonderful idea." He snuggled up to me on the couch and pulled my legs onto his lap, massaging my calves. "Honey?"

"Hmm?" His eyes were closed as he deftly moved his hands over my muscles.

"Wanna have that life talk now?"

"Are you ready for that? I mean we just got engaged." He said, trying to keep a straight face. I smacked his arm lightly.

"Les. I'm serious."

"So, what topic do we tackle first?"

"Kids." He grinned at me, his eyes sparkling. "Do you want them?"

"I do. Lots, how many do you want?"

"As many as I can. But realistically, three maybe four." I laid my head back on the back of the couch. "I've thought about having kids, but never really wanted to, until now." I patted his hand with mine. "What about working for Rangeman? How long do you realistically see us working here?"

"As long as we can. I know eventually, I'm going to stop working in the streets, but I'm not sure when. What about you?"

"Well, I can work on the street as long as Ranger sees that I'm fit enough. As for the office, I could work there forever I guess." I sighed and closed my eyes, relaxing.

"Baby."

"Hmm?" I was starting to get sleepy, and tried not to drift off as he spoke.

"What about the wedding?" My eyes snapped open, and I sat up with a start. I hissed as my muscles screamed at me to stop moving.

"Shit. That hurt." He sat up and looked unsure of what to do to help. I grimmaced and said through gritted teeth. "I'm alright, Honey. I just moved too fast."

"Take it easy." He warned, trying not to reprimand me too harshly.

"Well, I don't know? Do you want to get married here in Trenton or do you want to get married in Vacaville?" I asked, watching his facial expressions.

"I'd like to get married here, and then maybe have a reception in Vacaville.." He said quietly, looking at me through lowered lashes. "What do you think?"

I grinned, feeling like I was floating on a cloud. "Really?" He leaned in and brushed his lips across mine, causing my body to hum. I no longer felt tired, no longer exhausted. "Honey. I'd love that. But where can we have the ceremony? I don't know Trenton well enough."

"Don't worry, Baby. Beautiful can help you find a place." He sighed and grinned at me, "It'll be the wedding of the century."

I rolled my eyes, "Honey, I don't care if it's the wedding of the century. I just want to marry you, regardless of grandure."

"Then I guess we better have your mom over later to start planning."

"So soon?" I raised my eyebrow. surprised.

"Baby. The sooner the better. Ranger said if I didn't hop to it, he was going to give the guys a green light on you." He teased.

I touched my hand to my chest, and in the best southern belle immitation I could muster I replied, "Why, , I do declare!" He snickered and rolled his eyes.

"You joke, but from what I get from my confidential sources on the inside of Rangeman, there's quite a few of the guys who would jump at a chance with you." His face dropped from a smile into a scowl. "I wasn't not exactly thrilled hearing that."

"Honey. I'm yours, you're mine. Plain and simple. No one will change that." I soothed his ego, and mentally rolled my eyes. We sat in silence for a while longer before my body gave out and I succumbed to sleep.

The sound of the front door opening woke me from my sleep, my hand slowly reached for the knife I had strapped to my leg. "Sassy, it's me, Ranger." I opened my eyes and relaxed my arm back into it's original position resting on my stomach. "You feeling any better?" He asked as he slid onto the couch next to me. I glanced around the room for Les, not finding him. Ranger sensed who I was looking for and said, "He's in the control room. Taking a shift for Ram."

"Oh, okay." I sighed and relaxed my head onto the back of the couch. My head turned, so I could look into his eyes. "I'm feeling better, just a little sore." I moved my arm slowly to show him I could. "I was more sore after the attack by my ex."

"Granted it was only a single gsw this time, you have to understand, it's in a bad spot." He handed me a bottle of water sitting on the table as well as my pain meds. I frowned at the pills sitting in the palm of my hand.

"I hate taking those things. They make me drowsy and slow." He moved the hand holding my pills towards me.

"Take them. Your body really needs the rest right now. Take them." Obeying his orders, I swallowed the pills and pouted.

"If I start to get loopy, it's your fault." I warned, and turned the tv on. We sat in quiet silence for over an hour before Ranger carefully slid his arm over my shoulder and onto the back of the couch. I smiled and thought of how much my life had changed in the last month and a half. I had witnessed the takedown on Johnson, had my life threatened, moved to Trenton, fell in love with Les, endured three long weeks while Les was in the wind, got engaged, killed a psycho, been shot and dealt with my mother. I had inheirited a wonderful family of guys who would lay down their lives for me. I couldn't have asked for a better life, I finally felt like I belonged. Although I had fallen into a wonderful career and a great family, I had survived a lot in my life and hoped that things would mellow out for me. Having endured all that, I wondered what could happen next. Things around Rangeman never were normal and quiet for very long.

The sound that I heard next rocked me to the core. An explosion that nearly deafened me, knocked both Ranger and I off the couch, over the coffee table and onto the ground. I pulled myself up, oblivious to the pain. In the near dark, I checked on Ranger, he was out cold. I dragged him out from under debris and gave him a better once over. A large piece of the wall had come down, hit him in the head and knocked him unconscious. I scrambled to the door, as the backup generator kicked the emergency lights on. I heard men running, shouting and pounding on the door. I swung it open with some difficulty, to see Ram and Tank both covered in blood. Ram grabbed me, chucked me over his shoulder and ran out of the building with me. Tank soon was at our heels with Ranger over his shoulder.

"I'm fine, but Ranger got hit in the head with a piece of the wall, no other visible wounds." I barked to Tank as we made it to the front of the building. Steph came running at us, her face covered in blood and dirt.

"Oh, God!" She stopped short at the sight of Ranger laying on the concrete, dropping to her knees beside him. She stroked his face with her shaking hands. "BOBBY!" She screamed, as Ram set me on my feet. I whipped my head around looking for Les.

"Where's Les?" I stammered, I spun around once more, not seeing him. Ram shook his head.

"He was in control, taking my shift. He was close to the epicenter." His voice barely heard above the sound of the approaching emergency vehicles. My eyes widened and I tore out of Ram's grip and dashed back into the building. "SHIT!" Ram raced after me, determinded to bring me back.

I dodged under hanging wires, debris and exposed beams that had fallen into the hallways, I wound my way up the staircase, passing Rangemen carrying out the wounded. I finally found my way to the doorway for 5, and felt a hand grip my arm.

"Sassy. You can't. It's not safe. Get back outside." Ram shouted at me. I wrenched my arm free, not feeling the blood starting to flow from the reopened wound on my shoulder.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, I steeled my resolve and barked at him, "I swear to god, Rammy, if you don't help me find Les, I'll never forgive you." I shouted at him, as I picked my way through the debris. It was chaos, nothing was recognizable, except the occasional chair or chunk of desk. Ram followed me cursing me under his breath.

"Sassy, as soon as we find him, we're out of here." He shoved a desk out of what once was the door way to the control room. I screamed when I saw it, the monitor wall had fallen forward trapping both Lester and Binky. The tell-tale crackle and pop of a fire was begining to grow louder as the whole 5th floor began to fill with smoke.

Choking on the smoke, I shouted to Ram, "We have to get this wall off of them. The fire's getting closer so we have to move fast." He nodded and between the two of us we tried to move the wall off. It would not budge, it was too heavy. We tried again, I strained as I wedged my back against the wall and pushed with my legs. The sudden movement made me look up to see Tank and Hal pushing the wall off with us. I dropped to my knees, first dragging Binky clear, before I dragged Les free. The guys dropped the wall just as we could see the orange glow from the flames emerge from the remains of both Lester and Ranger's offices. Tank threw Binky over his shoulder as Hal carried Les, I held Ram's hand as we made our way back down to the street. We stumbled out, choughing the acrid smoke out of our lungs, I followed Tank and Hal as they carried Les and Binky to a pair of paramedics set up on the grass of the house across the street.

I dropped to my knees and felt for a pulse on Les, not finding one, I jumped onto him straddling him, I began chest compressions. "He's in cardiac arrest! I'm begining compressions!" I placed my hands one over the other, fingers laced over his sternum and began to count as I pushed down on his chest. I looked over to see Ram watching in shock. "Rammy! I need you to breath for Les. Can you do that for me?" He hesitated for a second before dropping to Les's side. "One and two and three and four and..." I continued until I stopped dead in my tracks, "Ram breathe!" He bent over and gave Les a few deep breaths, before I continued the compressions. We continued for a few more minutes, as the two paramedics worked on Binky.

The paramedic monitoring Binky shouted that he had a pulse and they prepped him for transport to the ER. As soon as he was loaded onto a gurney, the two paramedics raced to our side. They took over for us and I stood there staring at the love of my life, with Ram hugging me close. Tears streamed down my face as I realized I may lose him forever. I screamed at him, "LESTER SANTOS DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE ME. DON'T YOU MAKE ME A WIDOW EVER BEFORE WE'RE MARRIED. WAKE UP!" Ram pulled me back from them as they loaded him onto the gurney and into the ambulance. I raced into the back with Ram in tow. The paramedic stopped me with a hand on my chest.

"Stop. Are you family?" He shouted clearly annoyed.

"He's my fiancee. I have power of attorney for him." I pointed at Ram, "He's my bodyguard. He goes where I go." I jumped into the back and watched as Ram slid into the front passneger seat. The ambulance took off like a bat out of hell to St. Francis.

We screeched to a halt in front of the ER just as the paramedic in the back shouted, "I've got a pulse!" I gave a small sigh of relief as they pulled him out and wheeled him into the ER. Ram held me back as I watched the doctors and nurses cut away his clothing, shouting orders to others waiting in the wings.

Ram tugged me over to the nurses station and becconed a flustered nurse over, "I think she ripped her stitches out. She was released from upstairs this morning." The nurse came around the counter and pulled back my bloody shirt to reveal a gaping wound where over an hour ago six neat stitches had been. It was seeping blood and looked inflamed. She pulled a resident intern over and showed him my shoulder, as I concentrated my focus on the small bay where Les lay seemingly lifeless. Ram dragged me away to the gurney sitting in the hallway. I tore my eyes away from Les to Ram who was sporting his usual blank face. He lowered his gaze to me and kissed the top of my head. "Sassy. It'll be okay. Les is a strong man, he'd never leave you willingly." I nodded and scanned the hallways as the resident began to clean me up a little.

"I don't care if I'm covered in shit, stitch me back up so I can watch over my fiancee. He doesn't have anyone guarding him." I pleaded with the doctor. He held out his hands to the nurse for an anesthetic, and I shook my head, "No. You don't have the time. Just stitch me up. I'm waiving any pain meds right now." I looked him in the eyes with my best menacing glare. He backed up slightly, obviously nervous.

"It will take more stitches than before." I nodded and closed my eyes, steeling myself against the pain I knew was coming.

"Just finish and get back to helping the others." I said through gritted teeth. He began to sew the surgical thread through my skin and all I could feel was a burning sensation. I relaxed knowing it couldn't get any worse, opened my eyes to look into Rams green eyes. "How is he doing?" Ram glanced over and smiled.

"He's moving." I jerked my head to look but from where I was sitting it was impossible to see. I growled at the doctor and he finished putting in the last of the eight stitches. The nurse handed me papers to sign and I handed over my insurance card. I stood and leaned over to watch Les swatting at the doctors as they attempted to asess his condition. I smiled and knew he was pissed he was in the hospital again. "Never one for hospitals, that one." Ram said as he sighed.

"Neither am I." I grinned and hugged Ram close. "Thank you Rammy. You know, I would have forgiven you eventually." I admitted, holding him tightly. His arms wrapped around me, giving me his strength.

"Stay here. I'm going to check in with Tank to find out where they took the wounded." Nodding I sat back on the gurney. The nurse walked back over to me and handed me my card back. She followed my gaze to Les's bay.

"He yours?" She asked clearly amused.

"Yeah. We just got engaged not quite a week ago." I answered never letting my gaze leave him.

She sucked in a breath and her eyes grew wide, I tore my gaze from Les to look at her. "You're the woman who got shot in Pennsylvania last week." I grinned and nodded. "Oh, my god! You were released?" She was shocked.

"Yeah, this morning." I shrugged with some difficulty. "I was trying to recouperate at home when the explosion happened."

"Honey, take my advice. Marry that man and run for the hills." She grinned and walked back to her station.

A moment later Ram walked back to me, "Ranger is here at St. Francis, around the corner and down the hall in the last bay. Hal and Cal are watching him right now. Binky is at Hamilton with half of the wounded." I cringed knowing it was a nightmare to have the men split like that.

"Tank still at Rangeman?" He nodded, "Alright, let me get Les squared away and I'll be ready to help." He opened his mouth to stop me, but I held out my hand cutting him off. "I'm not taking no for an answer. We need all able bodied men on their feet and ready to help." I strode over to Les who was growling at a nurse trying to wipe an antibiotic onto a large scrape on his arm.

"Get that shit away from me and tell me where my Baby is!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, she backed away quickly afraid of the very large, very pissed off patient laying in the bed before her.

"Lester Santos! Be nice to her, she's trying to help." I admonished him, a smile gracing my lips.

He jerked his head around to me and tried to get up. I laid my hands across his abdomen and he stilled. "Baby! Are you okay?" He looked worried as he surveyed me. I held a handful of the bloodsoaked t-shirt from my body and nodded.

"Most of this is yours, and Ram's blood. I'm okay. Thank god you're okay." My eyes filled with tears, I fought to keep them at bay. "You almost died on me, Les."

He frowned and threw an arm over his eyes, relaxing finally. "I'm sorry. All I remember is a loud bang and then nothing. What happened?"

"Someone bombed the building. It affected the front left corner of the building. Ranger is down the hall, he was unconscious so I pulled him out of the debris. Tank came and got him, Ram took me outside." I shuffled my feet a little, trying to find the words to tell him how he was rescued.

"Who got me out?" He asked, lifting his arm off of his eyes. I sighed and bit my lower lip. "Baby?" His voice became a little more forceful, wanting to know.

"Ram and I did." I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing he was going to flip.

"You did what?" He screeched.

"Ram and I went back in for you." I stamped my foot in defiance. "We got outside, you weren't there! I panicked and ran back in for you. Ram tried to stop me, but I told him I'd never forgive him if he didn't help me find you." I shifted my stance. "We found both you and Binky still in the control room. The wall of monitors fell on you, Ram and I tried to lift it off. It wasn't until Tank and Hal helped 'til we could lift it. I pulled both you and Binky free. Hal carried you out, Tank carried Binky out and Ram helped me out."

"Why did you go back in? Someone would have got to me." Anger filled his voice, his body shaking.

"The 5th floor was on fire and they would have never got you out in time. Besides you and Binky had quit breathing. I had to start CPR on you, while the medics worked on Binky. I pumped your chest and Ram breathed for you for over ten minutes. You almost died!" By the last sentence, I was bawling. "Damn you. You almost left me!" I stamped my foot again, wiping my nose with the back of my arm. I winced as I lifted my injured arm, he watched me with pain in his eyes.

"You did what?" He asked a little less pissed.

"We kept your ass alive until they could get a pulse." He sighed and covered his face with his hands.

"God! I am so sorry, Baby." He held out his hands and I rushed into them. I stroked his hair from his face, taking in the sight of his handsome face. He kissed me feverishly, as I grasped his arms. Pulling back, I giggled and then sighed.

"Don't ever do that to me again." I stood up and looked over at the nurse who was still standing there. "I think you better take good care of ." She nodded, clearly still in shock and moved toward Les once more. "Honey. I have to check on Ranger. I will be back later. They need all available men right now. Just be a good patient and cooperate. I love you." I blew a kiss to him, he caught it and blew me one in return.

"I love you too Baby. Make sure Ranger is okay." I grinned and strode out of the room. Making my way down the hall I could hear Steph, Cal and Hal talking in the hallway.

"Hey, is he awake yet?" I asked, glancing at the curtain blocking my view of the inside of the bay.

"Yeah, he just came to a few minutes ago. I told him about what you did." Hal said, watching me carefully.

"Well, I couldn't just leave him. Les is awake and giving the nurses problems." Steph smiled and then drew me into a tight embrace.

"Thank you, Sassy. You saved him." I shook my head and frowned.

"He would have done the same for me."

"So, you saved Les and Binky too, I hear." She smiled at me and rubbed my good arm with her hand. "Did you have to get new stitches?" She looked at the new bandage peeking it's way out from under the t-shirt.

"Yeah. It's nothing. Hal, I need the keys to the SUV. I need to get to Tank." He handed me the keys and called over my shoulder to Ram.

"Ram, go with her, take as many of the non-critical men with you as you can find." We nodded and raced throught the ER managing to collect five other men who were either unharmed or barely injured. We piled into the SUV and tore out of the parking lot towards the decimated building we knew as Rangeman Headquarters.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Pulling up to the building we blew through the police line that TPD had set up and raced up to Tank who was exuding an authoritative demeanor. "Tank!" I shouted as I slid to a stop in front of him.

"We're royally fucked right now. The building is threatening to collapse, and we still have one man unaccounted for. Search teams have gone in to find him."

I paled at the thought. "Manny, Vince and Bobby are with them right now looking for Wolf. Hal called a few minutes ago, Ranger's awake and trying to get released." He shook his head. His radio squelched and Manny's voice was heard, "We found him. He's alive. Caught under the air vent on 3. We'll be out shortly." We all breathed a sigh of relief.

"I need everyone to begin searching and documenting what you can find. No stone unturned." He barked. I partnered with Hector who had appeared at my side, and we all fanned out. Working around the police and fire crews was hectic, but manageable. Hector pulled me aside, pointing towards the empty lot next to the building. We snaked through the tall grass and started our search. Even though it was on the opposite side of the building that had been hit, it yielded something we were desperate to find. In the tall grass, next to a small area of trampled grass was a small electronic box with a cell phone attatched. I stilled at the sight of it and called Hector over.

"Hector! Que es eso?" (What is it?) I pointed to the electronic device and frowned. He squatted down and examined the device without touching it.

"Detonador. Se utiliza la senal de telephono celular. Sera mejor que lamme Tank." (Detonator. It uses the cell phone signal. We better call Tank.) He whipped out his cell phone and made the call. Two minutes later, Tank and Morelli found their way over to us with a CSI tech with them.

"Detonator. Shit!" Morelli said after examining the device. He lifted his gaze to me. "I was supposed to get your statement from the shooting tonight. Guess we have better things to do." He frowned at me and looked at my blood soaked shirt. "You alright?"

"Fine. Stitches ripped out in the chaos." I didn't dare tell him it was from saving the guys. It would give him too much pleasure. "Can Hector and I finish our search?" I asked Tank, itching to get on with it. He nodded and we walked away into the field to search some more. Searching by flashlight was a slow and tedious process, but we found nothing more than a trail leading from the trampled grass to the far side of the field ending at the sidewalk. I motioned Hector over and we treked back to the front of the building where Tank and Morelli were standing talking with the fire marshall and two men we could peg as feds.

"Sassy." Tank called and I dragged Hector with me.

"These men are from ATF, Agents Brocker and Forth." I shook their hands and took a good look at them. Both were in their late forties, potbellies and grey hair. Brocker was maybe 6 foot and Forth 5'6". "They have a few questions for you."

"Where were you when the explosion happened?" Brocker asked, pan and paper in hand.

"I was sitting on the couch with Ranger in Lester's apartment on the 4th floor watching TV. The explosion happened, knocking us both to the floor. I checked Ranger over and dragged him out of the debris. Hal and Tank found us and helped to get us out." I shifted my footing and waited for the next question.

"Did you go back in?" Forth asked, knowing the answer already, by the look on his face.

"I didn't see Les and freaked out. I ran back in, Ram followed me and we found Les and Binky in the control room trapped by the wall of monitors that fell. We tried to lift it but couldn't, Tank and Hal showed up and helped us lift it off of the guys. I pulled Les and Binky free and we made it out." I frowned and was impatient, wanting to finish the inquisition.

"What did the explosion feel like?" Brocker asked, watching me closely.

"It was as if the whole floor lurched upward and towards the right of the building. It threw both Ranger and I clear over the coffee table and love seat. We landed maybe a good 10 feet away from the sofa."

"Alright. We will need to get a formal statement from you in the next few days."

I sighed, "I know... I know. Don't leave town." I grinned and rolled my eyes. Turning to Tank, "I need to get back to the hospital. Les should be in a room by now."

"Fine. We have men who will take shifts guarding the building. Take Hector, Ram, Hal and Bobby back with you." I nodded and left Tank with the feds and Morelli.

Bobby drove as the rest of us sat in silence. I stared out of the window and wished I was dreaming. I heard my phone ringing in my pocket and pulled it out. Damn, my mom.

"Mom."

"Stephanie! Are you alright? I just saw on the news about Rangeman." She was crying and it was difficult to understand her.

"I'm alright. I'm more worried about Les. He went into full cardiac arrest, he's at St. Francis. I'm headed back there right now. I'll call you when I can." Before she could say any more, I snapped the phone shut. I turned around in my seat to look at the guys in the back. "Have any of you called your families to let them know you're okay?"

I got a return of nothing but blank faces. Bobby shook his head. "We don't usually call home for anything regarding work."

"I think this is a perfect time to break that habit." I scolded them, tossing my phone to Hal. "Call your mother, now." He grumbled and made the call. We could hear a female voice crying in the background as Hal assured his mother that he was alive and well. He hung up and handed it to Ram. He made a quick call and in rapid German told a female on the other end that he was alive. With a quick 'libe dich' (love you) he snapped the phone shut and offered it to Hector. Hector shook his head and looked back out the window. Ram handed the phone back to me and I offered to call for Bobby. He repeated his mother's number and I held the phone to his ear as he drove. After he finished telling his distraught mother he was still in one piece, he nodded to end the call. I snapped the phone shut and relaxed into the seat.

"Nobody but Bomber has ever worried about us like this. It's nice." Hal said, fiddling with his fingers.

"Hal, you guys are my family now. How can I not worry about you?" I answered him, trying not to tear up. "You guys are my brothers now. End of story."

I watched Bobby grin and look back in the rear view mirror at the guys. "Remind me to pull a shift for you sometime. Consider it payback for putting my mom at ease." I grinned.

"I think I'll take you up on it sometime in the future." After a few minutes of silence, I wondered aloud, "Who is stupid enough to bomb Rageman?"

"Tank isn't sure. ATF has an idea, there was chatter on some websites the last two days." Ram answered, I turned to look at him with a stunned expression. "What? Can I help it if I easedrop?" He grinned. "The feds think it has to do with the hit put out on you from Johnson." I paled and instantly felt queasy.

"Pull over!" I screamed, as Bobby skidded to a stop at the side of the road. I bolted out of the SUV and doubled over, puking my guts out. Ram held my hair as Hal patted my back. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and stood up. "Sorry guys." I appologized.

"It's alright. I'd get sick too." Bobby said as he handed me a bottle of water. "We better get back to the St. Francis, Tank said Ranger was ready to kill someone to get released."

We pulled up into the parking lot and were mobbed by tv reporters asking all kinds of questions about the bombing. We pushed through and entered the ER. I found Les being prepped to be transferred to a private room upstairs, as the guys headed over to Ranger's bay. "Hey, Honey. I see you're ready to go to a room." I smoothed his hair back and kissed his forehead.

"Yeah. I have to be monitored for at least another 18 hours." He didn't look happy about it either.

"You'll do what you're told. I don't want you leaving before I know it's safe." I patted his hand just as an orderly came in and smiled at us.

" . Time to set you up in your room. can accompany us." I grinned and looked to see Les's eyes sparkling at the mention of ' '.

We wheeled down the hall towards the elevators, next to Ranger's bay. I patted Les's hand, "We better check on Ranger." I turned to the orderly, "Can we stop at the last bay real quick? Les's cousin is in there, and I need him to talk him into not checking himself out." The orderly nodded and held up five fingers, indiating we had five minutes. He wheeled the bed into the bay next to an obviously pissed Ranger. The orderly walked out giving us privacy.

"Ranger, you're okay." I said relived as I hugged him. He stiffened slightly then relaxed, Steph and Cal both smiled watching Ranger's reaction.

Les held up a hand and clasped Ranger's in a brotherly handshake. "Carlos, she saved both of us." He said looking into his black eyes. They both turned their heads to me and I felt like hiding.

"I did not. I just pushed the guys into getting you both out." I replied, trying to shift the praise to the guys.

"Regardless, you were the catalyst." Ranger said in a quiet tone. "Thank you." My head shot up and I think my jaw hit the floor. Did Batman just thank me? Holy shit!

Shaking out of my stupor, I said, "I talked with Tank." And after a moment I added, "And two suits from the ATF." Ranger gave his almost frown. "They didn't tell me much. So I didn't tell them much in return, just what happened, why I went back in and what the explosion felt like."

Ranger nodded, knowing I didn't give out anything that he would have to be worried about. Ram looked to me and then spoke up. "The feds think it has something to do with the hit placed on Sassy. There was chatter they picked up on a website starting two days ago." Ranger growled and picked up his phone. He dialed a familiar number and barked a few orders to Tank. We sat back and waited for him to finish. The orderly soon arrived and motioned that it was time to go.

"Ranger, we have to get Les up to his room. I think it would be a good idea if you stayed at least until morning. Get checked out and put Steph's mind at ease." I pleaded with him. He smiled and grabbed her hand.

"If the two ladies of Rangeman tell me to, then I guess I have no choice." I smiled and bid them good bye. Ram and Hector followed us up as we got Les settled into his room. His night nurse walked in and stopped at the sight of the managerie inside the room.

"Uh, hi. My name is Lena, I'll be your night nurse . Give me a buzz if you need anything. I'm going to hook you up to a heart montior, and it will notify me if anything is wrong." She attatched a few electrodes to his chest and attatched wires connected to a machine sitting to his left. " ?"

I turned to look at her, "Yes?"

"I will have extra balnket brought up here for you, the chair in the corner pulls out into a single bed. I expect that these gentlemen," she waved to Ram and Hector, "will be guarding?" I nodded and smiled.

"You've dealt with Rangeman before I see?" I grinned.

"Yup. Several times." She glanced over to Ram, "If I'm not mistaken, you were in here last year." He smiled and nodded.

"Yes, Ma'am." She grinned back and eyed him with peaked interest.

Les groaned and rolled his eyes, "Ram, flirt with her later." Ram snapped to attention and tried not to chuckle. Hector was quiet, leaning against the wall watching the whole scene.

"Hector. Va a ver mas de el toda la noche? Tenga cuidado y esta alerta." (You will watch over him all night? Be careful and be alert.)

"Si, Sassy. No se preocupe." (No worries.) He stood and walked out to position himself outside the door. Ram walked over to me kissed my cheek and walked out to his post next to Hector.

"You and Ram getting kinda chummy." Les teased, his voice clearly tired.

"He's just glad I'm okay. He and Hector were with me tonight after I left here. They watched over me."

"Good. I trust them." He said closing his eyes, his breathing getting heavy.

"Honey, get some sleep. I'll be right here if you need me." I kissed him gently and settled on the chair, staring at the white wall across from me.

The nurse brought back some sheets and blankets for me and I slept fitfully the rest of the night, periodically checking on a sleeping Lester. Finally around 3 AM I fell asleep and didn't wake up until I heard the monitors going crazy a little after 8 AM. I jumped to me feet to find Les gone. I yanked to door open to find Hector and Ram both leaning against the door frame. "Where is he?" I asked, panic evident in my voice. Ram pointed behind me as Les walked out of the bathroom. I sighed and sank against the door frame, in relief.

The nurse came running, noticed him sitting in his bed and asked, "What the hell are you doing?" She scolded him like a five year old child.

"Bathroom. Had to pee." He smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, guess I set the monitors off." I frowned and shook my head in disgust.

"I'm going to go talk to your doctor. Stay here and don't set off any more monitors." I turned on my heels and strode out of the room to the nurses station.

I tracked down the doctor and asked when he could be released. The doctor tried to explain that Les should be hospitalized for an additional two days, but I protested. "You all told him it would be 18 hours for monitoring, not two days. Our Rangeman Medic can care for him. We have additional medical staff on call if we need it. Please have the papers ready by lunch." I walked away feeling much more confident in my abilities to intimidate, after the doctor reversed his stance on early release.

Walking back in, I saw Ranger dressed in his uniform, sitting on the edge of Les's bed with Steph. "I got him to okay your release after lunch." I announced to Les. He looked surprised and looked to Ranger.

"Sassy. I tried to talk him into early release for Santos already, but he wouldn't budge. How did you get him to agree?" He lifted an eyebrow. "I told him that Bobby would assume responsibility and we could call in additional medical staff if nescessary." I grinned.

Ranger shook his head, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're not a pissed off woman." I smiled and winked at Steph.

Ranger left with Hector and Hal in tow, to relieve Tank. Ram and I remained until Les was released right after lunch. Ram retrieved an extra set of clothing from the SUV for Les and the trip down to the SUV was almost comical, Les was forced to ride in a wheelchair to the curb. I rolled my eyes as he griped and groaned the entire way. "Les, can it." I snapped, he shut his mouth and just sat there brooding. We got him into the SUV and drove away, leaving the TV reporters in our dust. "Sorry, Honey about snapping at you." I appologized.

"I think you're just as tired as I am, Baby. You didn't get much sleep last night." I frowned and nodded my head in agreement.

We pulled up outside the taped off section of the street and walked our way into the fray. The three of us stood in total shock at the sight if the Rangeman building. What once was a sleek and standard office building, was now a shell of it's former self. The whole left side of the building was disfigured, the top two floors were damaged but somewhat intact. The bottom five floors had a gaping hole where the left front corner used to be. It was so heartwrenching to see. Sadly it reminded me of pictures of bombed buildings from far away places, I couldn't pronounce.

Dozens of feds were working their way through the rubble, searching for evidence. I watched as some began to shout, one stood up and held out a piece of plastic in his hand. Brocker, dressed in an orange vest over his suit, checked with the man and nodded. He bagged the piece and marked it immediately. I watched Ranger walk over to us, a scowl on his face.

"The blast originated from a vehicle that ran up onto the sidewalk, the driver ran before men could tell him to move it. The blast took out the left front corner, missing the records room and the server room. It sealed the entrance for the underground levels, though. Good thing." He smirked, "Wouldn't want the feds finding what's in there anyway." I giggled and watched Les almost deflate the more he looked at the building.

"Honey, it's going to be alright." I patted him on the shoulder gently, watching him closely. "What do we do next?"

"Eat." Ranger replied, "We need to fill up, been since lunch yesterday since most of us have eaten." We nodded and piled into several SUV's. We drove to Pino's and walked in to a quiet crowd. We filled up the rear of the place, all silent in our pursuit of sustinence. walked over to Ranger and told us the pizza was on the house. He grinned and shook his head. He ended up trading todays pizzas for six months of free monitoring by Rangeman. conceeded and soon the pizza's started to make their way out to us.

As we ate, several citizens came up to our tables and asked if there was anything they could help us with. Ranger kindly refused their help but assured them that this would in no way affect the utmost service Rangeman had built it's reputation on. We finished, eating until we could hold no more and wrapped the remainders in foil and carted them with us. I sighed, tired as all hell. Les held me close in the SUV, as Ram drove us to a safe house nearby.

We crashed anywhere we could find a place, fifteen men and two women crammed into the small house was an experience I was ready to forget. I had to sunggle with Les on a single bed, with both Ram and Hal asleep on the floor. I had asked Tank not long after we had arrived where the other guys were. He had told me that there were three other safe houses in town that were now housing the men from Rangeman. I guess I shouldn't really be surprised at that, I knew there were safe houses around town, and I knew that it had been mandatory for all personnel to report for duty. But I never considered where to house them all, until now.

We woke sometime around 4:30 AM to the sound of the guys standing in line for the bathroom, drinking their morning coffee. I yawned and stretched my arms and legs, forgetting about my stitches, and soonfound myself wincing in pain. I heard Les stirring and I snuggled into his chest, breathing in his scent and listening to his heartbeat. "Baby? You awake?" He smoothed my hair with his free hand and placed a kiss to my temple.

In a voice more like a croak than anything else I said, "Yeah. You think I could cut in line for the bathroom?" I grinned and wrinkled my nose.

"You can try. I think the guys would let you through, although, I think I'll be at the end of the line." He lamented with a sigh.

"Sucks to be you." I grinned and sprung out of the tiny bed. "Steph still asleep?" I asked Ranger as he leaned against the doorframe, waiting to talk to Les.

"Sound asleep. I should wake her. We're getting ready to leave soon and she needs to eat." I smiled and hurried out of the room.

Ram was standing near the front of the line and I gave him a warm hug. "Morning Rammy."

He hugged me close to him, dropping a quick kiss to the top of my head. "You want the bathroom, don't you?" He grinned, watching me as I started to do my potty dance in front of all the guys in line. I hopped from foot to foot, with a worried look on my face.

"Please?" He rolled his eyes and looked at the guys in line behind him.

"You better ask them first." He jerked his thumb behind them at the others waiting. I glanced back and realized there were seven other guys standing behind us, patiently waiting. I frowned, shook my head and made my way to the back of the line. Ram shook his head in disbelief and scooted into the bathroom, as soon as the door opened. Let me tell you, the next ten minutes that passed seemed to be the longest of my life. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, when I realized I was in the front of the line. I was now, literally dancing, waiting my turn just like the other guys had. When the door opened I raced past Junior and slammed the door behind me. As soon as I was done, I washed my hands, ran my hands through my hair, tied it back up into a ponytail and sighed.

As I walked out of the bathroom, Junior, Bobby, Les and Hal were all standing along the wall watching me. I looked from one to the next, before they all held up signs ranging from a 10 from Les to a 7 from Hal. I stuck out my tongue and blew them a raspberry. "And you all think I'm a brat?!" I grinned and walked into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.

"Baby, if your club moves are anything like your potty dance, we'll have to try them out." He gave me his lopsided grin and I rolled my eyes.

I poured myself a cup of coffee, drained it immediately and refilled it. "Les, I haven't been to a dance club since college. And it probably wouldn't be your cup of tea. It was a country bar, lots of line dancing and two stepping." I grinned sheepishly, set down my cup and gave a couple of quick dance step, ending in a double spin in place.

Les grinned, "How'd you learn that?" He gripped my hips with his hands and held me still.

"Hours of pratice durring lunches with my friends in high school. There were probably fifteen to twenty of us over the years. We had a whole section of the quad we used to hang out in." I spun in his arms and dropped down to squat on my heels before popping back up to my feet. "The things I could teach you." I waggled my eyebrows at him and grinned. I heard Bobby clearing his throat behind me and I spun around to grab my cup off the counter, red in the face.

"Sassy, Les is going to need a few weeks of recouperation before you can teach him anything like that." He chuckled and shook his head. I sashayed my way out to the dining room to grab a quick bite to eat. Ella had set up a makeshift kitchen at a friend's house nearby and had cooked all night prepping for all the mouths to feed. She had delivered the food little over 10 minutes before and headed off to the other houses. I grabbed four breakfast burritos and two big glasses of OJ, walked back to where Les had saved two seats and handed him his breakfast. I returned to the dining room to procure mine.

We ate in silence, the thought of no longer having a home weighed heavily on our minds. Trying not to eat the onions, I picked out the little flecks as I went, and soon had a small pile on my plate. Les raised an eyebrow at it and gave a small laugh. Miffed at his enjoyment of my hatred of nearly raw onions, I flicked the last onion I found, right at him. It sailed through the air and landed right smack dab in the middle of his forehead. I began to giggle as he tried to look at it crossed eyed. Hal looked over to see what was so funny and chuckled, which in turn made Junior and Cal look. Soon everyone in the dining room was dying of laughter, holding our sides. Ranger walked in to see us all staring at Les, tears streaming down our faces, as our laughter rang throughout the small house. He smiled and sighed, happy to see us relax a little during this difficult time.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

We loaded up into the fleet of SUV's parked along the street and headed to Haywood. We pulled up to see the others waiting for us. I had never seen the staff of Rangeman in it's entirety until now, and I was proud to call myself part of Rangeman. The only men not present were Binky, Wolf and their guards. I looked from face to face, and realized I knew most of the guys. There were two groups of Rangemen I had never seen before standing off to either side of Ranger, I watched them in fascination. Les pulled me forward towards the one group and stopped just short of them. He growled deep in his chest and shoved the man who had his back to him. The man turned around suddenly and nearly hit Les in the jaw with a right hook. I squeeked and had a fist buried in his gut before he knew what hit him. He doubled over as the air from his chest came out in a loud 'whoosh'. Les held me back and I looked at him like he was nuts. "Baby, that's my cousin Antonio, he runs the Miami office." He grinned at me.

I paled at his words and rushed forward to administer not only my appologies but a little TLC as well. "I am SOOOOO sorry. I thought you were going to fight Les." I rubbed his back as he stood upright, looking a little wary of me. "I had no idea you were related." I blushed a deep crimson as I heard most of the guys behind me chuckling at the sight of a girl taking down the boss from Miami.

"Baby, this is my cousin, Antonio Manoso, Ranger's brother." I held out my hand timidly. Les turned to Antonio, with a twinkle in his eye. "Tony, this is Sassy." Antonio shook my hand, giving me a sheepish grin.

"Can't believe a girl just gutted me." He teased, before he became serious. His voice lowered so only the three of us could hear. "You pulled Carlos to safety?" I nodded silently. "And you were the one that forced Ram to help find Les?" I nodded again and gave him my sweetest smile.

"I couldn't leave him to become a crispy critter." I replied, as Les reached out to hold my hand, interlacing my fingers with his. "Besides, I can't marry a corpse." The look on Antonio's face was priceless, his jaw hit the ground, eyes wide and speechless, for the moment. He quickly collected himself and winked at me with a wicked grin on his face.

"As in you and Lester getting married?" His voice raised enough for the other guys in his group to hear. They all looked to one another before staring back at me. "Are you serious?" We both grinned and I held out my hand to show them the sapphire ring sitting on my finger.

"As a heart attack." I said, giggling.

He hugged Les and I soon found myself wrapped in his arms. "Congratulations! It's about time, Lester settled down with a nice girl." He grinned and rubbed his stomach. "You tell your parents yet?" Les grimmaced and hung his head.

"Holy shit! You mean the great Lester Santos hasn't told his parents that their pride and joy is getting married?" Antonio looked more than pleased with the fact he was making Les squirm. "You better tell them and soon." Les rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around me as Ranger cleared his throat. All talking ceased, eyes rivited to him, ears straining to hear every last word. He had climbed atop a Rangeman SUV to have a better view of his men.

"Men." He turned to the general direction that both Steph and I stood, "And Ladies. Rangeman has taken a serious blow. The perpetrators of this evil act have struck at the very heart of this company. You, the employees, are the heart of this company. Without you, this company would not exist. We have an official casualty count, out of 51 men with in the building, 6 were untouched, 35 with minor injuries, 7 with serious injuries and three with critical injuries. Of those three critical, two had short term cardiac arrests and the third had a punctured lung with six broken ribs. Of those three, only one has been released from the hospital. Binky is in critical condition in the ICU at Hamilton, it is touch and go from this point. Wolf is in critical condition in the ICU at St. Francis. He has stablized and is expected to be transferred to a private room later today." He shifted his gaze to the building behind us, pointing to the gaping hole in the side of Rangeman Inc.

"This will not stop Rangeman. This will only help us to become stronger, more fierce in our duties to protect those who need our protection. I have another building that we will be using temporarily as HQ, until this building can be rebuilt. We will be bigger, we will be better, we will be stronger. We are Rangeman, nothing can stop us!" Cheers sounded from every employee, drawing the attention of all the feds working the building for evidence. They stopped in their tracks to listen and watch Ranger's speech.

"You are the heart and soul of this company, from the Core members, I want to thank every one of you for your strength and passion for this life and this career. It takes a special breed of man to be able to handle the stress and requirments of this job. If I didn't think you were capable you would not be here. Select men will be asked to aid in the recovery of documents, electronics and personal items from the buliding. Be aware that the building is still not full stable. Foremost, files from the records room, the electronics from the server and data rooms will be priority number one. Tank will be coordinating the units." He turned to Tank who at 6'9" did not need to stand on top of the SUV to be seen or heard.

"Alpha, Bravo, Charlie: recovery in the records room. Delta, Echo, Foxtrot: recovery in the server and data rooms. Golf, Hotel, India: recover data, files and computers from 5th floor. You will be escorted by the fire marshall and trained fire personnel. Julliet, Kilo and Lima: guard duty at stations around the building. Mike, November and Oscar: assist Ella with food prep and transport, including shopping. Papa, Quebec and Romeo: procure from our suppliers the necessary office equipment needed from a list I will provide you. See me immediately after this meeting is over. Sierra, Tango and Uniform: retreive uniforms from our suppliers and necessary items from Sunny's. Victor, Whiskey and X-ray: laundry duty and procurement of bedding. Yankee and Zulu: guard the safehouses. Those unassigned from Miami and Boston, you will be assigned a unit. Ladies: You will be assisting Brown with medic duties, liasons to Binky and Wolf's families, recording expenditures as well as logging the men's hours. The core team will be assisting units depending on the situation. Ram: recover weapons from the range and storerooms. Santos, Hal: Bombshell duty for the ladies." He looked around at the silent men standing around him.

"Any questions?" No one dared speak, for fear he would unleash his anger. Anyone could tell that Tank had not slept well the night before, and no one blamed him. His job was the one job no one envied, being Ranger's right hand man. With it came a list of responsibilities a mile long as well as the distinction of taking over Ranger's duties when he was offline or injured. "Dismissed. Boston, Miami see Ranger for your assignments." We milled about for a few minutes before I found Steph plastered to Ranger's side.

"Ladies?" I asked, trying not to pout from Tank not giving us our own unit name.

"Yeah, not cool. Why can't he name us something cool? Like Chicas, or The Stephs?" Steph asked Ranger. He rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Can you call us Bayi? I think it fits us both, and Les will like it."

They looked at each other and asked me in unison, "What's bayi?"

"It's Indonesian for both Baby and Babe." Steph giggled and Ranger grinned. "And none of the other unit names sound like it, so it's original."

"Consider it done." Ranger said, squeezing Stephs hand in his own. "Tank!" He barked and in less than 5 seconds Tank was standing at our side. "The ladies would like a unit name. Bayi."

"Done." He then looked at me, unfamiliar with the language and slightly confused. "What does it mean?" I smiled and crooked my finger to get him to bend down.

He moved positioned his ear next to my mouth and I whispered to him, "It means both Baby and Babe in Indonesean." He grinned wide, showing his incredibly white teeth.

Steph and I moved over to Bobby who busily making handwritten lists of the injured. He handed us the ones he had already finished, "I need you two to check on these men ASAP. I need to know level of pain and how they are holding up." We nodded and split up each taking a page. Unfortunately with the guys being split all over the place, I decided to call each man on my list. I ran through most of my list and only had one left when Steph came stomping over, pissed.

"How the hell are we going to get through all these?" She exclaimed, waving the papers around in front of her.

"I've been calling them. It's the only way you can reach most of the guys anyway." She rolled her eyes and flopped down onto the grass next to me, paper and pen in hand. "I've got one left, I'll help you with your list as soon as I'm done."

"Good." She grinned and ripped her list in half, handing me the bottom half. "Let's get this done and then head over to see Wolf and Binky." We sailed through the lists, and found both Hal and Lester talking to two men dressed impecably in armani suits.

"Baby, I want you to meet James and Drake, Rangeman's lawyers. They're here to make sure nothing comes back to bite us in the ass." I smiled and shook both their hands.

"So this is the famous Sassy I have heard so much about." I blushed a little and lowered my lashes. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. When Les updated his will before he left, you were the only thing he would tak about." Drake stated, eyeing me with thinly veiled interest. Les noticed the looks he was giving me and slugged him in the shoulder.

"Dude. She's mine." Drake laughed and patted Les on the shoulder.

"I can see that." He gestured to my ring. James nodded to Drake and they walked away towards the feds.

"We need to go check on Wolf and Binky. Bobby's orders." Steph said, watching the commotion of the feds dragging a large piece of a truck frame from the building.

We first drove to Hamilton and walked up to the ICU unit to find Demon and Manny guarding the room. "How's he doing?" Hal asked, shaking both men's hands.

"They're prepping him right now to be moved." Manny said glancing in through the glass door to Wolf's room.

"Can we see him?" I asked the nurse who just stepped out of the room.

"Five minutes." She said looking at the collection of black clad men and women. I slid the door open to find Wolf sitting up in his bed, patiently waiting.

"Hey."

"Yo." He answered with a slight smile. "I see you two came out in one piece."

"Yeah."

"Santos okay?" I smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. He got released from the hospital. We're trying to keep him on a short leash."

Trying to change the subject Steph asked, "You feeling better?"

"Sore. Hurts to breathe. But I'm okay. The nurses are cute so it makes being here bearable." I rolled my eyes. Steph giggled and she patted his knee with her hand.

"Just take it easy on them." She teased before giving him a quick peck on the cheek. I followed suit and we turned to leave. "We'll check in with you tomorrow. If you need anything call one of us."

"If I had known I would get kisses from the two of you, I would have allowed myself some hospital time sooner." He quiped, giving a full blown grin.

"Take it easy, Wolf." I said as we shut the door behind us. Manny and Demon gave the guys a complicated handshake and we headed out of Hamilton and headed to St. Francis.

Walking into the ICU unit to see Binky hooked to all kinds of machines and monitors, was more than I could have ever imagined. My hand flew to my chest and I wanted to cry. He looked so pale and vulnerable laying there in the bed, his eyes closed and his breathing steady. I slipped into his room as Steph and the guys talked to Vince and Butch. I inched my way over to his bedside, watching the monitors as they recorded his vitals. Sensing that someone was in his room, Binky slowly opened his eyes and focused on me. "Hey." I whispered, grasping his hand in mine.

"Hi." His voice was barely a whisper, so much so that I had to lean down to hear him.

"I'm glad you're alive. I was worried about you." I tried to sniff back the tears that threatened to fall. "You almost died on me."

"I didn't." He gave a weak smile and then grimmaced at the effort.

"Relax. It's okay. Bobby called you parents, they'll be here sometime later tonight. Is there anything you want or need?" I brushed my thumb over his knuckles in an unconscious gesture of caring.

"No."

"Did Vince and Butch tell you what happened?" He nodded slowly, tired from the effort. "Hey, take it easy."

"You saved me." He said simply. "Thank you." I smiled and wiped away a tear from my cheek with my free hand.

"Binky. You would have saved me if the situation was switched. I know we got off to a bad start, but I'd like us to be friends." He smiled again and winked. "Alright. We'll be back later to talk to your parents with Bobby. Last chance, is there anything you want me to get you?"

"Just you." His eyes shined and I felt like we had finally found a path to friendship together.

"Alright. You rest, we'll be back." I bent down and kissed him on the cheek, lingering just slightly as he moaned in pleasure. "See you later Binks." I slid the door shut behind me and sighed trying to gather myself.

"Binks?" Les asked, eyebrow raised.

"We came to an understanding about being friends I think. I thought I should give him a nickname like I do the other guys. It's only fitting." I settled into his warm arms and watched the same nurse from earlier come back.

" . I see you're still in one piece." She said, batting her lashes at him.

Les looked a little unsure how to proceed with this woman with his girl at his side. "Um, yeah. I gotta go. Business." He scooted away down the hall as Hal and the guy chuckled. Steph and I both glared at the nurse, pissed that she was so brazen as to try to flirt with a man who was clearly holding his woman in his arms. We stomped our way out and made our way back to Haywood.

Tank had lines of men ferrying files out of the building in bucket brigade style. Two by two, a unit of men were carrying out the computer servers and loading them into a box truck parked near us. "Feds cleared us to remove our files and servers. We have to get them out fast, before they change their mind." He said as he checked another server off the list in his hands. "You need to get the receipts for the food, office equipment, uni's, weapons from Sunny's and the bedding. Collect them, itemize them and give me an expediture report by the end of today." We nodded and set out to complete our job.

Several hours later, we sat in the dining room of the safehouse and typing on the laptop in silence. The huge pile of receipts were nested in an old shoe box sitting on the table in front of us. We finally printed out the expense report and I turned to Steph, "How the hell is Ranger affording all this?" I asked exasperated at the huge amount of money he had shelled out in the matter of three days.

"You know, a lot of times I just don't ask." She shrugged. "I prefer not to know. I know he's Batman and all, but I don't want to know about all the details sometimes. I know he's got offshore accounts for each of the guys in the Core group. Investing a lot of the profits is were we make the most money."

"Investing? Offshore accounts?" I tried not to sound too shocked. "Well, I guess, his stock broker is making millions." I chuckled and snagged the printed report and jumped to my feet. "Let's get this back to Tank and get something to eat. We found both Les and Hal sacked out on the floor of the living room. I lifted Hal's shirt off of his incredible mouth watering abs and slapped my hand, palm down. He sat up, clearly feeling it. Steph, jumped onto his chest pinning him down as I slapped his belly some more. By the time we let up, all four of us were dying of laughter, while Hal held his stomach. "Wake up sleepy heads! We better drop this off to Tank." I waved the reports under their noses.

"Besides we need to get something to eat." Steph pouted, "I need to check on Ranger." She rose to her feet and waited on the guys. Hal lifted his shirt to reveal an angry red belly.

"You two should be shackled together. Evil, evil women!" He huffed out, sore. He grinned at us with a twinkle in his eyes, "I'll get you my pretties... and that little dog too!" We groaned at his movie reference and walked out to the SUV.

Arriving at Haywood, the place was a flurry of activity. Men scurried about like ants on a mission, each working on their assigned job. Ranger was standing in an open sided tent with Brocker, Forth, the Fire Marshall, Juniak, a few uniformed Army mucky mucks, as well as four other men I assumed were feds. Ranger barked out, "Santos! Tank! Brown!"

Les walked over and stood at rigid attention along with Tank. Bobby soon made his way over as well and Ranger turned to Steph and I, "Babe, Sassy. You too." We looked at each other and quietly made our way in finding ourselves in among the top leaders in their respected fields. "It seems that Johnson was not the catalyst for this bombing." He glanced over to a uniformed man, "General Marsh."

The man stepped forward, decked out in his Army uniform. "Gentlemen and ladies. We have information that involves a faction of radical extremists that have been under surveilance for the past ten years. Informants reported that they were planning on bombing Rangeman in retalliation for an operation against them last year. They sent two men here to Trenton ahead of time as sleeper agents six months ago. They based their operations out of a home on Clark St."

Steph gasped, "That's in the burg!" The General, not used to being interupted, cleared his throat and continued.

"They had three 55 gallon drums of explosives delivered to the residence a week ago. We were unable to make contact in time to thwart the bombing. The explosives were transferred here via a delivery company one of the men worked for. It was able to bypass security due to the fact the drums were listed as machine parts on the manifests. The blocks of Semtex were surrounded by sawdust and ball bearings to give it weight." He reached back with his hand to another uniformed man standing to his side and handed a file. "These are the two men we are looking for. Rafael Garza and his brother Ernesto Garza. They are considered armed and dangerous."

Juniak scowled at the photos that the General held up. "These men, are they still in the area?"

"Chief, they are still here in Trenton awaiting transport back to their home country. Informant reported that a helo will be picking them up at the municipal airport in less than four hours. They will fly out to a Pennsylvania airstrip where a plane will be waiting for them. I doubt they will make it." He shot a look to Ranger and the guys. Ranger nodded and turned to the General.

"Sir. We will need a Blackhawk here ASAP."

"Already done, Major. It's waiting for you and your men." My jaw dropped as Les stood taller and moved toward the map spread out on the table in the center of the tent.

"General, we will require our usual equipment."

"It's waiting on board, with a pilot if you so require." Bobby shook his head and nodded to Ranger. Bobby ran out of the tent at a dead sprint. Steph and I looked to one another in disbelief at the situation we found ourselves in.

Steph couldn't hold it in any longer, "Ranger, why are Sassy and I here? We're not trained like you guys?"

The General and Ranger both looked between the two of them before Ranger spoke. "We need you two as a distraction. They're going to be waiting at the airfield in a hanger. We need you two to get them to come out so we can apprehend them." Les shook his head and almost had a stroke.

"Absolutely not!" He turned red and began to shake. "I can't in good conscious, put either of them in harms way on this one." He grabbed Ranger's arm. "This is your wife, and my future wife!"

Ranger growled and answered in a deadly quiet tone, "They are Rangeman just like the rest of us. They are required to do perform just like the rest of us. I trust Steph and Sassy's abilities, as well as their intuition." His gaze shift from Les to us, "Ladies, this will be the most important job you will have to date."

Steph and I looked at each other and nodded. In unison we answered, "We'll do it." The look of rage and pain on Lester's face shook me to my core.

"Les..." I began to say, but was cut off by the General.

"You have two hours to get your people in place." He and his lackeys walked out of the tent, with the feds close on their heels.

Juniak turned to Ranger, "Do you require anything I can provide?"

"Radios, wires and your SWAT force."

"Done."

Twenty minutes later, Ranger had formed a plan and we all had our assigned duties. We were leaving the tent when Les pulled me aside. "What in the hell are you doing?" He was pissed, his eyes had darkened to a deep stormy forest green, not the usual brilliant green. "These aren't your usual skips. Beautiful hasn't done anything close to this before. You can die."

"Honey." I placed my hands on either side of his face, holding it still. "I have to do this. We need to get these guys. You'll never get them alive if you try to capture them by force. I'm not doing this because Ranger asked me to. I'm doing this because it's for Rangeman, it's for us." I tried to reason with him but to no avail. "I'm doing this whether you want me to or not. I have to." I turned around and walked away, holding back the tears that threatened to fall. I was a mess inside, but I'd be damned if I was going to let Les see that.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

An hour and a half later Steph and I were garbed in borrowed dresses and shoes, our hair perfectly coifed. We sat in the SUV with Hal and Les as we waited for our signal. Ranger had thirty of our Rangemen spread around the airfield, in strategic spots watching the hanger from all angles. The men who had been on surveilence duty of it ten minutes after our meeting finished reported that the two men had arrived and were inside.

Glancing out of the window, I frowned at the situation that lay ahead of us. Nothing short of a miracle would bring both Steph and I out unscathed and I damn well knew it. I had a knife strapped under the skirt of the conservetively cut red dress I was wearing, hoping I wouldn't need to use it. Steph had a short blue halter top dress that showed off a large expanse of her back. Ranger pulled up to our staging area in his SUV and angeld out. He walked over to us and opened the door to talk to Steph. They exited and walked around to the rear of the vehicle. Throught my side vision I could see them embraced in a passionate embrace, their lips meeting with gusto. I sighed and fiddled with my hands, not daring to look at Les. He was beyond pissed with me and I was pretty sure was not talking to me right now. Hal turned in the drivers seat and handed me a wire. "You need to put this on. We can hear what's going on." He then handed me a tiny ear piece. "This is an earwig. It will let you hear us." I nodded and looked at him for help.

"How do I do this?" I held up the wire, looking a little unsure.

Les huffed out a loud breath and took the wire from my hands. He glared at Hal who promptly turned his back to us, his eyes scanning outside for trouble. "Baby. Lift your dress a little. I have to place this in an inconspicuous spot." I did as I was told as his hand deftly threaded the wire around my middle and under my right breast. He taped it there, trying not to let his fingers linger for too long. He pulled his hands back and turned back to look out the window. I lowered my dress and tried not to cry.

"Les... I'm sorry." I appologized, agony in my voice.

"I has to be done." He said simply, not returning my gaze.

"Les, look at me." I begged in a whisper. He whipped his eyes around to me, his face clearly angry. "I am doing this because otherwise we will never be able to live in a world where I will feel safe. These guys think we are weak right now. We're not. We're stronger than we've ever been and they're going to pay." My voice had steeled itself at the end of the last sentence. Les watched with veiled fascination as I transformed myself from timid girl to a full fledged pissed off Rangewoman. "I'll be damned if I have to worry about our children because we never took these guys out." I sighed and crossed my arms in across my chest. "I don't care if you're pissed anymore. I have to do this. I have to."

Les softened at last and gripped my arms with both hands. "You really need to do this don't you?" His eyes searching mine with fervor.

"Yes."

His lips came crushing down on mine, blasting away what little defense I had against him. Our tongues dueled, seeking, finding and claiming the other. My arms wrapped around his neck, oblivious to the pain in my shoulder, as his arms snaked their way around my waist. It wasn't until Hal cleared his throat that we broke apart, our breathing ragged, eyes glazed over. "I love you Baby." Les whispered into my ear.

"I lvoe you too. Watch over me." I said as I stepped out of the SUV.

Ranger nodded at me and said, "It's time." We did a quick mic check and then checked our earwigs, all were in working order. I drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Steph and I held hands and walked towards the hanger.

Holding Stephs hand with my right hand, I held an empty champagne bottle with my left. We weaved and sang badly as we worked our way to the hanger. I saw a head pop up in the window checking us out, as I sang the words to Bon Jovi's, It's my life with Steph. She jerked the door to the hanger open and said in her best drunk voice, "Let's get a helochopter and go for a ride."

I giggled and waved the bottle in the air. "This is the best birfday ever!" I hiccuped and spun Steph in a circle. We were stopped in an instant when two men we recognized as the Garza brothers intercepted us.

"Stop. What are you doing here?" They taller one shouted at us.

I forwned, leaned forward and squinted at him in the darkness. "It's my birfday!" I shouted into the darkness, giggling at him. He flipped the lights on and I blinked my eyes trying to get them to adjust to the change.

"Ouch!" Steph squeeled covering her eyes, "It's too bright. Turn them off."

"Stop!" The short man shouted at us. "You should not be here. You must leave!"

"But I want a helochopter ride. Can you give us a helochopter ride?" She gave him her best sweet smile. She leaned closer to him and in a loud whisper said, "Hey, you know, you're kinda cute. Do you want to party with us?"

He backed up a step and wrinkled his nose at the smell of the champagne coming from the bottle. "No. You must leave. You can not be here." The taller of the two began to eye me with interest.

"Ernesto, we can wait with them. What is the harm?" He walked up to me brushing his hand up and down my arm gently. I desperately tried to keep a smile on my face, while inside I was cringing at his every touch.

"Yeah, why can't we stay with you? We like to talk. Do you like to talk?" Steph said in her drunk voice, as she weaved a little as she stood.

"No. No talk. You can not stay!" Rafael shouted at his brother. "Take them outside." I frowned at Ernesto and pouted.

Ernesto grabbed both my and Stephs arms to lead us out when I dropped my knees out from under me and sat down hard on the floor. "Oopsy!" I giggled. "I fell." Rafael sighed and grabbed me under the arm roughly. They shoved us towards the door when I dropped the bottle, it clattered on the concrete and I shrieked with laughter.

Steph giggled and wrapped her arms around Ernesto. "You want to talk to me?" She stuck out her lower lip, pouting.

"No talk. We must leave." She pouted and shrugged her shoulders. Just as we were about to exit the door I felt a slight tug under my right breast. The tape had worked it's way lose and the wire was about to fall off. I shook Rafael's hand off my arm and stood still, trying to come up with a plan. I cross my arms over my chest, hoding the wire in place.

"I can walk all by myself." I said and walked unaided. Steph and Ernesto stepped out of the door, but before I could, Rafael grabbed my arm. Because my hands were no longer holding the wire it along with the transmitter fell and crashed onto the floor. He turned to me with a shocked look. Scrambling I said, "Oh, look Sarah. There's my MP3 player. I thought I lost it." But the look on Rafael's face said he wasn't buying it. In an instant I was jerked back into the building as a group of black clad warriors descended upon us. Rafael shoved the door shut and held a gun to my head.

"Puta! You work for Manoso! You die." He shoved me towards the back of the hanger, gun still pressed against my head.

I was pissed and needed to keep him distracted so the guys could enter and rescue me. "You asshole! You'll never get out of here alive. I was in the building when you blew it up. You hurt a lot of good men." He slapped me across the face with the back of his hand. The copper taste of blood coated my tongue, and I felt a loose tooth wriggle in it's socket.

"Quiet. You say another word and you die." I huffed out and began to inch my way farther from him. He had us plastered against the back wall in the darkest shadows, as he shut the light off. I laughed deep in my chest knowing that darkness was his greatest enemy, and Rangeman's best friend. In my ear I could hear Ranger's voice asking me if I was okay. I was to shuffle my feet if I was. I dragged my foot across the floor quickly, acting if I was shifting positions.

"We have a parabolic mic on the building and can hear everything. If you are along a wall, make a noise." I heard in my ear. I sniffled and wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

"Make a noise when I get to your approximate position. Front wall..." Silence. "Right wall." Silence. "Left wall." Silence. "Rear wall." I hiccuped, covering my mouth with my hand. Rafael looked at me. I held my chin high, acting as if I wasn't scared.

"Rear wall. We are going to storm the front door, while a second unit come in from the back door. On the count of ten I need you to drop to the floor as flat as you can covering your head with your arms." I scratched my leg, realizing my knife was still sitting in the sheith.

Rafael, turned to me, and grabbed my arm. "Puta. You should have died. You all deserved to die. Your leader killed many of my brothers. He deserves death. " He sneered. "Manoso is a dead man. He will not live to see another day. I will kill him."

I could hear Ranger begin the count down in my ear. "Ten... nine... eight... seven..."

I steeled myself and answered, "You die first." A the sound of 'one', I dropped to the floor, but because Rafael had my arm in a death grip he fell with me. The loud bang of the wooden doors splintering was deafening. Rafael tried to shove the gun to my head, but I had the knife in my hand. I raked it across his face and he dropped the gun. He punched me in the face and upon pure instinct I shoved the knife between his ribs in his chest and twisted it. I jerked it upward for good measure.

A moment later I was surrounded by twenty Rangemen, guns beaded on a dying Rafael. I scrambled to my feet and kicked him in the side of his face. "That's for saying I was a Puta, Asshole." I kicked him again in the chest, "And that's for saying I should have died." Ranger kicked Garza'a gun away and retrained his gun on Garza's head.

He sputtered trying to talk, blood foamed from his mouth with every breath. "Manoso. I die today. You die tomorrow." And with his last breath, Garza died. I felt a cold sliver impale itself into my heart, making me shiver not from the cold, but from the exhilleration of taking that bastards life. I felt warm, strong arms wrap around me, leading me away from the lifeless body of Rafael Garza. Once outside I realized that Ram was leading me to Les. I began to tremble and shake as the adrenaline wore itself off. Sensing that I was about to collapse, Ram picked me up, cradling me in his arms and brought me to Les.

I stammered out between chattering teeth, "Thanks Rammy." He set me on my feet and I fell into Les's arms. No tears were shed by me, I had none to give. I buried my face into his chest and heaved a sigh of relief. "Les. Can we go now." I asked in a timid voice.

"I'm sorry, Baby. I have to help intercept the helo coming in for the Garzas. We got the signal from Ernesto and are going to take them down too." He kissed me lightly, reverently. "I need you to stay here with Hal and Ram. I will be back as soon as I can." He hugged me tightly, "I'm sorry you had to go through this."

"Les. I agreed. I did what I had to do." He frowned and kissed the tip of my nose.

"I'll be back in a while. I'll meet you at the safehouse." I nodded and gave him one last soul searing kiss for the road. He pulled back eyes cloudy and unfocused for a split second before he snapped out of it. It was odd watching his whole persona and body change as he shifted from normal Les, to Lester Santos killing machine. It chilled me but I could not stop from watching.

Only when Ram led me away did I shout at Les, "I love you." I got no response as he stalked away decked out in his full gear. Ram wrapped his arms around me, giving me his strength.

"Sassy?" He asked, turning my head with his finger. "You really know how to kick the shit out of men who piss you off, don't you?" He grinned then his face turned serious. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. I need to talk to Ranger. Is he gone?" I asked looking around the area for him.

"He and the core team are on the hunt. You won't get to see him until they get back to the safehouse." I sighed and walked over to Steph and Hal.

"Sassy!" Steph squeeked and ran over to me throwing her arms around me. "I'm glad you're alright. I saw the wire drop and almost peed my pants." I grinned and shrugged after she released me from her grip.

"It's alright. I'm alive and that's all that counts."

"Sassy. You killed him. Cal says it was right between the ribs, into the lung." I stood there looking at Hal as if he were talking about the weather. "You kicked him in the head." He grinned.

"He said I should have died in the blast. He said we all deserved to die. Then he said that Ranger deserved to die." My voice shook as I spoke, not from fear, but from anger. "I'm glad I killed him. He won't hurt anyone anymore." Hal hugged me close to his chest and I stood ramrod straight. "I can't relax until the core team is safe." I turned to Ram. "Rammy. Take us back to the safehouse."

"Sassy, you have to debrief to Juniak and the General." He stated in a pleading voice. I turned to him and my shoulders dropped. He led us to our SUV where we were met by the General and Juniak. "Sirs. Sassy will debrief now. Please make it quick."

The next ten minutes were boring and tedious. I had to recount the entire story from start to finish for them as they listened. I was particularly unemotional at the part about me plunging the knife into Garza. After they were satisfied with my account of the events, they released me. The drive back to the safehouse was silent and uneventful.

Both Steph and I changed into clean uniforms left for us on the bed and I slumped down into the dining room chair chugging cup after cup of coffee. I stared into space, focusing on nothing in particular. Ram settled into the seat next to me and held my hand, in complete silence. Three hours later, Ram's phone rang. He answered it and listened to the voice on the other end. After less than a minute, he snapped the phone shut and shoved it into his pant pocket. He pulled me to my feet and led me out to the SUV. I was almost catatonic at the thought something had gone wrong with the takedown. Ram said not a word until we were on the road.

"Stephanie." Uh, oh. He used my real name. That's not good. "There's been a complication. Your mom just arrived at Haywood looking for you. She refuses to leave until she see's you." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers.

"How bad of a fit did she throw?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"She threw a cup of scalding hot coffee into Jester's face. Then she slapped him." I paled at the thought. Jester was not the person she should piss off. He could have broken her like a twig if he had wanted to. Only his professional courtesy to me, prevented him from injuring her. We pulled up to see my mother sitting on the hood of her rental car, Jester standing next to her, face still wet. His arms were crossed over his chest, his expression one of being peturbed.

"MOM! What the hell did you do to Jester?" I shouted at her. "He's just doing his job. Don't take you frustrations out on him!" I turned to Jester and appologized, "I am so sorry. I'll take a monitor shift for you to make up for this. I'm really sorry."

Jester smiled and patted me on the top of my head. In his cockney accent he answered, "No worries, love. I'll take yous up on it later." He watched as I ran my hand over my face at the look my mother was giving me.

"Mom. You can't come down here and demand to see me like this. We have a lot going on right now. I think you need to go home. I'll be fine. I have a lot of work to do. We have a lot to do to get us back up and operational here." She rolled her eyes and shook her boney finger in my face.

"Now see here young lady! You may may be grown up, but that still doesn't excuse you from being my daughter. This goon here tried to ignore me, I had to throw the coffee to get his attention."

"Mom. He knew you were here before you even saw him. You weren't being ignored, he has a job to do, and babysitting you wasn't one of them. He only dealt with you as a favor to me. I think you owe him an appology." I stood looking at her, hands on my hips and a menacing look on my face. She looked at me like I had grown two heads. "Look, I've had a really long day. I don't need this kind of bullshit right now. Why didn't you just call me?" I shouted at her.

"Because you don't answer the phone. Only that man you're seeing answers it. I hate talking to him. He's such a kiss ass." She said through gritted teeth.

"Mom." I sighed and continued. "Look, Lester is like that. He's not a kiss ass, he's really a smart ass. He is just trying to be polite to you. He loves me and if you can't handle that then we have a problem."

Ram stepped in and spoke up, " . My name is Ram. I can personally vouch for Lester being an fine upstanding man. He and I served together in the Army, we have worked together here at Rangeman for the last seven years. He is honorable, hard working, loyal and I know without a shadow of a doubt that he loves your daughter more than life itself." She watched him with obvious interest, eyeing his muscled chest and body.

"Mother!" I cried. "Stop it. He is not piece of meat! Stop looking at him like that!" I shook my head. "Look, I have things I have to do. What was so important for you to cause such a problem?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay. You never called me back and I was worried." She stated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Mom. This job I have is very dangerous and stressful. I have a lot going on and a lot of responsibilities. I can't just drop everything and call you when you get worried about me. I will call when I can, but this job doesn't allow for much free time. Go home. Call me when you get there to let me know you're safe." I turned away and stalked back to the SUV. I slammed the door shut and waited for Ram. With the window down slightly, I could hear their conversation.

" . She loves you, but she is trying to stay strong right now. She has a lot on her shoulders. She is helping to keep this company solvent right now, and beyond that she had a violent incident earlier this evening. So, if you'll excuse her, I would greatly appreciate it." She frowned and shook her finger at him.

"What in the hell was so violent that it made her talk to me as if I was a common thug on the street?"

Ram stiffened as he squared his shoulders. "Your daughter took out one of the bombers. She killed him in self defense. He tried to shoot her in the head." The look of disbelief on her face was priceless! "I want you to know, in the short time she has been here she has become my best friend. I would die for her if it were nescessary. So please don't cheapen her or her career choice because you aren't happy with it. Please don't forget, we love her too." He turned on his heels and marched back to the SUV.

Ram and I both received a text message just before we parked in front of the safehouse. I pulled out my phone, read the message and jumped out of the still moving SUV racing for the door. I burst in to see Les sitting on the couch being tended to by Bobby. "SHIT!" I ran to his side, sliding to a stop on my knees next to him. "Les? Are you alright?" He opened his eyes and smiled down at me.

"Hey, Baby. I'm fine. I just got jostled a little when I pounded the pilots face into the consol." He grinned and handed me a headset obviously from the chopper they ambushed. I chuckled and laid my head in his lap, positively tired beyond reason. He pulled me to my feet and dragged me to our bed. After stripping, I remained in my panites and shirt, I slid beneath the covers. By the time he snuggled under the covers with me, I was almost asleep. He nuzzled his face into my neck and whispered, "I love you Baby. I'll never leave you again." I smiled and drifted into a dreamless sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

Morning came sooner that I expected. My legs were tangled in Lester's and my face was snuggled into his chest. His slow and steady breaths told me he was still asleep, so I carefully extracated myself from his arms. I made my way to the bathroom and washed up taking a quick shower before most of the guys were awake. After dressing and pulling my hair into a ponytail, I exited and made a cup of coffee. The clock read 4 AM and I sat in silence as I watched the guys wake up and ready themselves for another day. Ranger walked into the kitchen, made himself a cup of coffee and sat next to me, silent as usual.

"Nice speech yesterday." He nodded, sipping his coffee.

"You alright?" He asked watching my facial expression. I shrugged and took a big gulp of my coffee. "You seem to be taking last night in stride."

"It had to be done. He said he was going to kill you." I sighed, looking deeply into the hot black liquid in my mug. "All I could think about was protecting you. He tried to shove the gun into my face and I just acted on instinct. I shoved the knife between his ribs into his lung like Hector taught me." I made a jabbing motion with my hand. "I jerked up on it to make sure I sliced the lung enough to maximise the internal damage. He had to die."

"Sassy." His tone was deadly calm and I looked up into his eyes. "Thank you." I smiled and drank more of my coffee.

Les walked into the kitchen in nothing but his boxers, I smiled and snapped the waistband as he walked by. "Hey." He said sleepily, as he poured himself a cup of the hot liquid of life."You're up early."

"I made it into the bathroom before the guys took it over." I smiled and giggled. "No waiting for me today."

"I can see that." He grinned. "You ready for today? We set up the new offices." I shrugged my shoulders.

"I guess." I looked at Ranger, "You going to get the security systems set up?"

"Hector and Bear worked on it all day yesterday. They're almost done. The only thing is they have to secure the parking and they're finished. I will require some men to help sound proof certain rooms."

"The Core offices, conference rooms and control room?" I asked, fidling with my mug,

"Yes." He drained the last of his coffee. "Sassy. I need you with me today. I understand you were assigned to Brown, but I need your expertise." I raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Sure. Any hint to what I'll be doing today?" He shrugged his shoulders and smiled, staying silent. I frowned, knowing he wasn't going to elaborate any further. "Alrighty then. When we leaving?"

"Now." He grabbed my hand in his and pulled me out the door. I looked back at a stunned Les as I was dragged to the waiting SUV. Les looked less than pleased with my quick departure, and even less so when I left with Ranger, alone. We drove in silence for a while as we drove across town. I remained silent as he did until we pulled up into the line for the drive through Starbucks.

"You are a god!" I gushed as I was handed Venti triple shot caramel white mocha with extra whip and extra caramel sauce. "I didn't know you cared." I teased as I sipped my sugary sweet coffee.

"Funny." His eyebrow quirked upward as he pulled into the parking lot for the cop shop. "Time to give Morelli your statement." I scowled at Ranger, he was no longer on my favorite people list as of that moment.

"Shit." I sighed and exited the SUV. We walked in side by side and were greeted by the Desk Sergeant.

"Ranger." He pointed to me, "She here for Morelli?" Ranger nodded and walked past the Sergeant towards the back of the building with me following close behind. I carried my coffee like it was my most prized posession, careful not to drop it. We stopped in front of a harried looking Detective Morelli.

"Morelli."

"Manoso." Joe looked up to see me standing next to Ranger and he grinned. "Finally decided to grace us with your presence?"

"Not by my choice." I grinned and pointed to my coffee. "He bribed me." Joe smiled wide and motioned for me to sit in the chair next to his desk. I complied, set my coffee on his desktop and folded my hands in my lap.

"Had a hard couple of weeks, haven't you?" He asked brushing a lock of unruly hair out of his eyes. Steph had been right when she described him good looking, but I didn't go for the whole Itallian Stallion thing he had going for him. I preferred my hot cuban.

"Not too bad. It could have been worse. I could be dead." I stated flatly, trying not to say any more than I should. It was a good thing Ranger was here, I could confer with him before I said anything I shouldn't.

"True. So, I looked into your past a little." I scowled at him.

"Getting nosey aren't you?" I asked, miffed.

"Consider it homework." He slid a folder across the desk to me. I flipped it open to reveal pictures of me after the attack by my ex, along with the police reports. I stiffened and shot Morelli a nasty look. "Your mom came in to see me last night. Gave me a piece of her mind about you. She's worried."

"What my mother said has no bearing on me or my job. She is pissed I am not living up to her expectations. As for the file, I could have saved you the trouble." I said, my voice low. "Brian beat me, shot me and I defended myself by hitting him in the head with a brick from my patio. What does this have to do with Johnson?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to get a little background on you. You seem to find trouble a lot. Sounds like someone else I know." He lifted his head to look into Ranger eyes. A flash of anger briefly passed over them before he looked back at me. "You know this is a formal statement?" I nodded and stared at him with my best blank face. "Just recount the story from the begining."

"Which begining? When I became engaged, or when I was attacked by Johnson?" I asked, feeling like being a smartass.

Morelli sighed and rubbed his face in his hands. "The attack." I rolled my eyes and recounted the entire story from the time I realized Les and I were being attacked, to when I passed out after shooting Johnson. I ended the story with my hands wrapped around my coffee cup, using it to keep my hands warm in the chilly room. "That's it?" He asked, eyeing me.

I remained silent, giving him my blank stare. Morelli finished writing a note on his pad of paper and flipped it shut. "Finished?" Ranger asked, still standing at my side.

Morelli nodded then held a hand up. "Want to tell me what went down last night? I was on the outer perimeter holding back traffic and didn't get to see what happened."

I looked to Ranger, who spoke for me. "She took out one of the men who bombed Rangeman." The look of shock on Morelli's face was priceless. A mix of disbelief, admiration and something else I couldn't quite put my finger on.

"Holy shit! You killed him?" He breathed out.

"He tried to kill me first. I was defending myself." I stated in a flat tone. "He tried to shoot me in the head, so I stuck him in the ribs with my knife."

"Shit. You're a fucking menace. Seven weeks in Trenton and you've killed two men! When are you going to drop this fucking job and go back to being a sales girl?" I looked at him as if he had grown two heads, then I looked at Ranger who was obviously pissed.

"FUCK YOU MORELLI!" I shouted at the top of lungs, not caring that the entire cop shop was watching and listening. "You can go fuck yourself. I am not some sweet innocent little girl who can be bullied by you or my mother. I will not quit Rangeman, I will not settle down and become a housewife." I jumped to my feet, pointing my finger in his face. "You know what your problem is Detective? You have a real problem with control issues." I turned to Ranger and gave him a pleading look. He grabbed me by the arm and led me away from Morelli's desk.

"You just wait and see Sugar Pie! Santos is going to have you pregnant and stuck barefoot in the house in no time!" He shouted after me. I skidded to a halt and turned to look him in the eye. I shook off Ranger's hand and stalked over to stand face to face with Morelli.

"You better call my laywer."

Ranger was standing still, his blank stare in place. He knew full well what I was about to do. Morelli, shocked I had turned back to him asked me, "Why?"

"Because, I hate being called Sugar Pie." And I landed a punch right in the center of Morelli's nose. He fell back into his chair holding his broken nose as it spurted blood. Big Dog handed Eddie Gazara a twenty dollar bill and I smiled. I sat down in the chair next to Morelli's desk.

"FUCK! You fucking bitch! You broke my nose." He screamed at me as he tried to stem the flow of blood from his nose. Just then none other than Joe Juniak walked out of his office and over to us.

"Morelli. What happened?" He smiled at me and patted my shoulder. "Nice to see you again Sassy." I smiled and patted the top of his hand with mine.

"She punched me in the face, sir." Morelli pulled his hand away from his face to show off his now crooked nose covered in blood.

Juniak tsk'd Morelli and said, "Morelli. Are you sure you didn't walk into a wall?" He glanced down and winked at me.

"I did not walk into fucking wall!"

"Sassy. Did you hit Morelli?" I nodded and crossed my arms over my chest in defiance to Morelli.

"Yes. He called me a 'fucking menace'. He then said I was going to be pregnant and stuck barefoot in a house like a good house wife in no time." I gave Morelli a death glare then gave a sweet smile to Juniak. "I'm sorry Chief."

He softened and patted me on the top of my head. "Say you're sorry, Sassy."

"Sorry." I said through gritted teeth.

"Ranger I think you better take her out of here. I'll clean up here." He kissed my cheek gently and hugged me. "Sassy. Take care Sweety. I'll see you both later today." I slowly stood up, giddy in the fact I was being let off the hook.

"What the fuck is going on?" Morelli shouted. "She hit a fucking cop! Arrest her ass for assault of a peace officer. She broke my god-damned nose." He was waving his arms around and really pissed.

Juniak turned to Morelli and with his best growl, "Morelli! My office NOW!" Morelli closed his mouth with a snap and stalked away to Juniak's office.

I turned to Ranger who was giving me his ever so slight smile. He jerked his head toward the front door and we strolled out as if nothing had happened. The grin that was plastered across my face made me look as if I was the cat who ate the canary. We drove back to the safehouse in silence, Ranger in his usual 'zone'. I was just starting to feel the effects of Morelli's face on my knuckles and glanced down to see two had split and were bleeding. I frowned and shook my hand trying to make it feel better. Ranger flipped open his phone and made a quick call. "Have Brown ready with his kit. ETA in 3." He snapped it shut and turned to give me a dark look.

"You realize that you could have spent time in jail for that." It was more a statment than a question.

"Yeah. He gets under my skin." I huffed out. "Besides, I hate being called Sweety Pie." Ranger laughed. I mean he really laughed. A deep hearty laugh that made me smile.

"I always wanted to see Stephanie hit him like that. Watching you was the next best thing." I grinned until we pulled up in front of the safehouse. All they guys were standing out front waiting for us. Bobby ran over to us with Lester at his side.

Lester tore the door open and pulled me out checking me over like a madman. "Baby! Are you okay?" I grinned and showed my knuckles to both him and Bobby.

"I kinda hurt them on Morelli's face." The look of shock on Lester's face was one I would never forget. Bobby began to chuckle and shoved Les aside to take a quick look at my hand. He pulled me into the house with the guys following like ducks in a row. They all surrounded me as I sat at the dining room table, while Bobby doctored up my hand.

"What the hell happened?" Lester damanded, fire in his eyes.

Ranger explained to the guys what had happened, right down to Juniak kissing my cheek and hugging me. Bones handed Hal a fifty dollar bill and I frowned. "Hey half of that is mine."

Hal grinned at me and nodded. "Can I pay you in Tastycakes?"

"Nope. I got my eyes on a particular piece at Sunny's." I grinned and winked at Hal.

"What is it?" He asked, curious.

I gave him a wicked smile and with my sweetest voice I answered, "My own stun gun." Hal's eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped to the floor. I looked at Bobby who rolled his eyes as he reached for the smelling salts.

"Fuck. Hal passed out." I said, a little stunned. "I was kidding." Les patted me hand. Ram shook his head. "It's really a thong at Victoria's Secret. I didn't tell him because I didn't want him to get embarassed." Groans were heard around me as Iooked around. "What?"

"Thong?" Ram said, shifting slightly. "You shouldn't talk about things like that around a room full of horny men." He admonished. "It's just obscene." I grinned and decided to make them suffer some more.

"What? It's only a black silk and lace thong. Although, I would like to get the matching bra. The only problem is that it's hard getting one in my size. 36DD's are hard to find." I think I could have heard a pin drop, and the fact the guys were all looking at me instead of Hal was a good sign. I watched as all they guys tried to adjust themselves in the least conspicuous manner possible. Even Ranger.

"Baby. I think you and I need to give the guys a break." He guided me to my feet and ushered me out the door.

"But what about Hal? I can't just leave him like that." I pleaded, only to be led to the backyard. Les grabbed me into a crushing hug.

"Baby. You realize you just gave all the guys stiffies? That was mean and you know it." He grinned, as I could feel his own stiffy pressing into my stomach.

"What?" I said in an innocent voice. "I was just teasing Hal. And then I was just paying the guys back for Ram's 'obscene' comment."

"You are an evil, evil woman." He grinned and pinned me against the house with his body. His kiss blew me away, making me forget the outside world. A cough made us pull apart. I looked over to see Ram waiting for us.

"Ranger's called a meeting inside."


End file.
